The Price of Freedom
by CasXxGrippedXxMeXxTight
Summary: Annabelle has paid the price. She's returned to the life of a princess and lost the meaning to everything. While her heart still calls for freedom and the sea, her obligations lock her in place. Until an invitation brings her back home, to the Caribbean.
1. Chapter 1

**HI! Okay, quick note, thanks to the anonymous reviewers for pointing out my technicality (no I do not hate you) and I really hope I'm not offending anyone when I say for the purpose of the story (since it's consistent throughout the first one) I'm just going to keep the name as is. Sorry, I'm an ignorant American. ^.^**

**Okay, so please review!**

**-Han**

The Price of Freedom

Annabelle shifted uncomfortably in her brides' maids dress. The pink color clashed slightly with her tanned skin and dark curls, but it wasn't her decision. At the moment, she was unconcerned with the color of anything. At the moment, she _was_ concerned with the fact that the groom had yet to show, and the sky had opened up, and let loose its fury.

Rain pelted her on all sides, but she did not move to stand. Elizabeth was kneeling in the courtyard, her head bowed. Anna crouched beside her, lying what she hoped was a comforting hand on her shoulder. The bouquet was dropped at the sound of heavy footsteps and they two of them ran. Soldiers held back a saddened and confused William Turner. Anna glared daggers at the men, who looked only slightly apologetic.

"Will, why is this happening?" Elizabeth asked her voice breaking. She crouched in front of him.

"I don't know," he said, looking her over from his position. "You look beautiful."

"I think its bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding."

"What is the meaning of this?" Anna spoke up. "I demand you release him at once!"

"Make way!" Governor Swann's voice sounded before anyone had the chance to respond to the princess. "How dare you? Stand your men down at once! Do you hear me?"

"Governor Wetherby Swann, it's been too long," a bored voice said. A short man turned rather dramatically from his spot of gazing out over the Port. His face was pale and smooth and his eyes were cold.

"Cutler Beckett?" Swann asked his eyebrows impossibly high.

"It's Lord now, actually," he replied pompously.

"Did you not hear me?" Anna spoke up again. "I said, release him."

"Ah, Miss Windsor, I believe?" he asked, turning his eyes to her. Her brown hair was falling out of the elegant twist she'd put it in this morning and her cheeks were angrily flushed.

"I take my title as seriously as you do yours. Respect mine," she said tersely.

"I apologize, Princess, I had been told you prefer not to be addressed as such," he said.

"Only by those I care for," she hissed. He blinked and bowed, the soldiers followed.

"As you wish."

"Now release him. You have no authority to arrest him!"

"In fact I do. Mr. Mercer," he called with a hand out. "A warrant for the arrest of one, William Turner." The document was passed to Swann, who unfurled the paper and widened his eyes.

"This warrant is for Elizabeth Swann!"

"Oh is it? That's annoying, my mistake. Arrest her," he said with a flick of his hand. Anna opened her mouth to protest but was cut off by the woman herself.

"On what charges?"

"No!" Will shouted, thrashing against the guards.

"Ah! Here's the one for William Turner. And I have another one here for a James Norrington, is he present?" Beckett asked, skillfully ignoring the two being held by Marines.

"Commodore Norrington resigned his commission some months ago," Swann said, looking up from the scroll.  
>"I don't believe that's the answer to the question I asked," Beckett readily replied.<br>"Lord Beckett, in the category of questions not answered..." Will started before Elizabeth finished.

"We are under the jurisdiction of the king's governor of Port Royal and you will tell us what we are charged with."

"The charge...is conspiring to set free a man convicted of crimes against the crown and empire and condemned to death, for which the..." Swann trailed off, his voice loosing its power and assurance.

"For which the punishment, regrettably, is also death," Beckett said with a gleam in his eye. "Perhaps you remember a certain pirate named Jack Sparrow?"

"_Captain!" _Will, Anna, and Elizabeth hissed in unison.

"Captain Jack Sparrow," Anna growled.

"Yes, I thought you might," he said with a smirk. "And before you say anything, Princess, these are signed by the King, you have no influence."

"So it may seem," she hissed, her stormy eyes narrowing. As Will and Elizabeth were taken away, she turned from the crowd, her eyes on the rough seas. Her fingers twisted the sparrow around her neck and she breathed a worried sigh. "Oh Jack, what do I do?"

.


	2. Chapter 2

**HELLO! I hope your questions are cleared up in this chapter ^.^ and fear not! soon there will be Jack!**

**-Han**

Annabelle rushed to the Governors' estate, where she had been staying for the week she was allowed back in the Caribbean. Her father had arrived a week after Jack's escape, and taken her back to England. She remembered her goodbyes, proper and stiff to the people around her. Will had yet to fully forgive her, but obviously had not wanted to see her leave.

She slid under the bed and pulled out the pirate clothes she'd kept, along with two daggers and a sword. She slipped into the familiar clothes, the poet's shirt hung from her shoulders, revealing the almost pale skin of her shoulders. The vest emphasized her chest, and the sparrow charm she never went without. The pants hung familiarly from her hips, but she had to tie them with a sash. She'd been refusing to eat much in her isolation, and had lost weight. Her hip bones now jutted from her skin, easily seen, even without breathing in. The boots made her feel at home and the sword made her think of Jack and Will. She sighed at the thought of the latter.

She'd received a letter a month ago, after almost a year of being trapped in the castle, no longer allowed to leave, informing her of Will's wedding. Making good on invitations was something the Royal family was known for, and she'd been allowed to go.

She was just glad to be away from her father and that damned castle. The servants would never speak to her, still guilty for what had happened that night so long ago, and her father frightened her. His rage had been great when they were alone, and the shouts had made her flinch for what felt like the first time in years. He'd hit her twice since then. Once when she was found in the market place, trying to barter passage to the Caribbean, and once when she'd been caught half-way out the doors.

Her old room seemed covered in a layer of dust, and it became her prison. She wandered the halls alone, wishing for a kind voice or whisper. When she would receive none, she would finger the sparrow charm around her neck and a wistful smile would come to her. The King had caught her like this one day, walking in a daze with a smile on her face and the train of her dress trailing behind her. He'd thought she was glad to be home.

Anna had tried as hard as she could, to retain her personality. But the lack of energy and vibrancy had left her cold. The servants could see the light fading from her eyes, and had tried to eradicate it. They snuck her out of the castle as often as they could, but as the months wore on, the trips became less frequent. Her speech had returned to its crisp proper tone and her movements were careful.

She no longer sported the bold and confident attitude she'd been so proud of. What would Jack think, if he could see her now? She was so demure and quiet. So hesitant and weak.

She pulled herself from her thoughts and rushed to where she knew Beckett would have positioned himself and let herself in. He was alone, standing before a huge map of the world. She took a moment to admire it, enthralled by how much of the world they had discovered.

"Lord Beckett," she announced her presence. He turned slowly, his eyebrows rising at her attire.

"I'm afraid to tell you, there isn't much that can be done for them. In fact, if it wasn't for your status, you would be with them," he said, guessing her reasons for being there. She held her head high as he circled her. "You are a lovely creature."

"I believed you have strayed from the business at hand," she muttered. "Surely there is something; something you want that can guarantee their freedom."

"Ah, you are a smart one, aren't you? Yes, there is, and as soon as Mr. Turner arrives we will discuss that. For now, there is one other thing I would like."

"What would that be?"

Instead of answering, he waltzed slowly back to the map, staring at it. "I am a man of high status, and in good standing with both the King, and the Prince. It wouldn't be difficult for me to ensure your betrothal to me," he said almost to himself.

"You want my hand?" she asked in shock.

"Don't sound so surprised. You're a princess. It would be very good business to marry you."

"Business?" she echoed.

"Of course. Love has no place in marriage. Just look where it landed Miss Swann and Mr. Turner," he said with contempt.

Annabelle was quiet for a while, and then casually strode over to him, joining him in gazing at the map. "If I were to…accept…there would be conditions," she answered finally.

"And I would be only too happy to oblige."

"You would assure both Will's and Elizabeth's freedom," she said as if it were obvious.

"Of course."

"And, I want to go wherever you send Will."

"I don't think-"

"I will find a way to deny you; I will do anything I have to," she cut across him quickly. He raised an eyebrow. "There are plenty of other men I could promise myself to that have a higher rank," she said wisely. He sighed and approached her. She found that he was her exact height. He met her eyes and produced a ring.

The band was a polished gold, too shiny. The stone itself was huge, a sparkling diamond, surrounded by smaller stones. Those alternated between diamonds and sapphires. She blinked slowly, trying to take in the extravagance.

He grabbed her hand roughly and slipped it on. She tried not to throw up, knowing that she had willingly played into his hands. He'd obviously planned for every move she could possibly make.

"I hate you," she whispered, her eyes narrowed and the grey becoming more predominant.

"It's just good business," he replied, leaning in and trailing a kiss along her cheek. She shivered in disgust and backed away hastily as a knock on the door sounded through the room.

.


	3. Chapter 3

**I was home sick today, so I thought I'd help you guys out! I love you guys soso much and your reviews make me super happy!**

**Love**

**-Han**

"Lord Beckett, the prisoner you ordered, sir," a soldier said, hauling Will into the room.

"Those won't be necessary," he said, indicating the shackles. They were removed and the soldier exited. Will looked accusingly at Anna, but turned his head again as Beckett began to speak. "The East India Trading Company has need of your services. We wish for you to act as our agent in a business transaction with out mutual friend Captain Sparrow." The name and title were said with absolute contempt. Anna didn't think 'friend' would be the appropriate word to describe his relationship with the Captain.  
>"More acquaintance than friend," Will answered. Anna shot him a glare; he knew how much Jack meant to her. He was the first and really only person to appreciate her as she was. To show her freedom and not leave her behind. He was her best friend, and Will knew it. "How do you know him?" Beckett casually walked to the hearth and picked up an iron tool. He pulled it from the flames and inspected it. Anna shrank back from the bright orange 'P'.<p>

"We've had dealings in the past. And we've each left our mark on the other," he said, his voice sounding slightly reminiscent.

"You-" Anna started furiously. He'd given him the brand, the one she knew personally must've hurt horribly. He branded him a pirate. Her hate for him grew exponentially and she prayed that when they found Jack, he would find a way to get her out of this.  
>"What mark did he leave on you?" Will cut across her. She moved her glare to him for a moment before looking back at Beckett. He did not answer; only put the brand back into the fireplace.<p>

"By your efforts Jack Sparrow was set free. I would like you to go to him and recover a certain property in his possession," he said, getting to the back to business. He turned back towards Anna. "And of course, by our agreement, you will accompany him."

"Recover? At the point of a sword?" Will asked, stepping forward slightly. Anna moved to stand beside him, looking curiously at the man before her.

"Bargain!" he exclaimed, as if the idea of anything less was atrocious. He picked something up from a table and held them for the pair of them to see. "Letters of Marque."

Will looked at Anna in confusion. "It amounts to a full pardon, a permanent one," she explained, looking at the folded parchment in something like amazement.

"You will offer these to Sparrow. Jack will be free, a privateer in the employ of England," Beckett said, a satisfied smirk on his face.

"You are mad if you think Jack will consider employment the same as freedom," Anna said plainly. He wasn't even the good kind of mad.

"Freedom," Beckett mocked. "Jack Sparrow is a dying breed." He moved to stare at the map again, his hands folded behind his back. "The world is shrinking, the blank edges of the map filled in. Jack must find his place in the new world or perish. Not unlike yourself, Mr. Turner. You and your fiancée face the hangman's noose," he reminded him.

"So you get both Jack and the _Black Pearl_?" Will questioned, his head cocking to the side. Beckett turned with a snort.

"The _Black Pearl_?"

"The property that you want and he possesses?" Will asked, as if it were obvious.

"A ship? Hardly!" Anna was shocked to see something close to humor in his eyes; she'd thought that was impossible. "The item in question is considerably smaller and far more valuable," he said, his calculating look back in place. "Something Sparrow keeps on his person at all times: a compass." Both Anna and Will widened their eyes with recognition. How could they forget? Anna sharply recalled the storm that had rocked the _Interceptor,_ and the death grip in which he held the compass. "Ah, you know it. Bring back that compass or there's no deal," he said with finality.

**Xx**

Will and Anna rushed with Governor Swann to the jail, so that Will could say goodbye. Anna's booted feet pounded the cobblestone comfortably, she'd missed them. She fingered the sword anxiously, waiting for them to reappear. She'd opted to give Will and Elizabeth time alone, since their wedding day had been ruined.

She was going to see Jack again. The thought was continuously running through her head. She tried not to get her hopes up. It was highly possible that he didn't remember her, or didn't want to see her. In fact, it was possible that they would never find him.

But she'd missed him. It'd been a whole year, and she'd still think of him whenever she sat on the docks in London. Which wasn't as often as she would've liked. She'd fallen back into the role of princess, but still sat on the docks, in plain cotton dresses, swishing her feet just above the water. She still fingered the sparrow charm around her neck and wished she could have gone with him. But she knew she'd made the right choice. The only choice, really.

Her life had become plain and boring and mundane. She was constantly surrounded by people that would normally never give her a second glance. But now she was royalty, and royalty was popular. She had suitors left and right and hated all of them. She had spent the last week with Will, but she could never have what they used to.

His words to her were still largely formal, and his posture still indicated hurt. For the most part, he understood where she was coming from, but that didn't dull the pain. She hated knowing she'd hurt him, but she couldn't change it. She'd kept it from him for a reason, and he only confirmed it by acting differently around her. She just wanted him to be the same. To be like her brother again.

When he finally reappeared, he looked miserable but determined. She had to rush to keep up with his fast strides to the docks. His usually boyish face was hardened and it made him look much older. His warm eyes were cold and distant. He didn't seem to notice that Anna was trying to follow him. She ducked around a cart and started running to catch him. When she finally caught onto his sleeve, she was out of breath completely.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his tone cutting.

"I am…going…with…you," she said in-between large gulps of air. His look was disdainful and he attempted to shake her off. He stopped when he realized what was on her left hand, the one clutching her chest.

"Wha-" he started to ask with surprise and concern.

"It was the only way to guarantee your freedoms. Even with the compass, he would not have pardoned you unless I agreed to marry him," she said, her breathing now normal. "Going with you was one of my conditions, so I am going."

"You're mad," he informed her with a slight smile.

"All the best people are," she reminded, stepping around him and meeting Mr. Mercer at the docks. The man induced shivers down her spine. Scars lined his face and his eyes were cruel. She thought he was more frightening than Barbossa.

He led them to the ship they would take passage on to Tortuga. She hurried across the gangplank, eager to get away from him. The Captain wasn't overly pleased at the idea of a woman onboard, but upon realizing who she was, accepted her graciously.

She sulked below decks for the rest of the night, since she was not allowed to help out on the ship. When she thought the sun would be rising soon, she stood and walked up into the open air. She felt the rush of the sea hit her all at once and realized that a year without it had not dulled the exhilaration she felt. She had missed the sea, the painfully boring voyage back to the Caribbean had not been enough for her.

She leaned against the railing and felt her hair swirl around her. She fingered the necklace, and hummed to herself. Her eyes were on the horizon, facing away from the coming sunrise. She was looking at the star. Her star.

The North Star still shown in the sky; twinkling in the purple-toned light. She felt a smile come to her face and realized she hadn't been smiling all that much, and if she had, it was forced. It shocked her to know that she felt truly happy here, on the sea. She felt as if something inside her needed this and the ache had finally been soothed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! Thanks all for the lovely reviews and all that. You guys mean the world to me. I love you!**

**Just so you know, the original plan is to stick to the movie plot, and throw in the extra scenes you'll see in a few chapters. Other than that, I really love the movie and I don't want to screw it up, thoooouuuggghhhhh, I am planning a bit of an alternate ending to the third one from the movie. But that's because my brain created this idea that made me happy, and I'm going to do it. Any guesses? -.^**

**-Han**

When they reached Tortuga, Anna breathed deeply. She'd missed the chaos of this place. The unadulterated madness. It was morning, and much less of the town was awake. Those who worked, went to do so, so they would have enough money to get drunk that night. She strolled easily down the gangplank, as if she were made for it's slightly swaying motions, and looked questioningly at Will.

"Where should we start?" she asked, linking arms with him. He stared at her arm for a moment before shrugging.

"How about him?" he asked, pointing to a random man on the docks. Anna nodded and approached him. Will asked the question and Anna did a quick glance around the harbor. _The Pearl_ was neither at the docks nor in the bay. She berated herself silently.

'As if you thought it would be this easy.'

"Captain Jack Sparrow, owes me four doubloons. I heard he was dead," the man said tersely. Anna snorted; it would be just like Jack to get out of debt like that.

Will sighed in exasperation and tromped off the docks and down onto the beach. The white sand was baking under the hot sun and turned a delightful tan color where the water splashed over it. Several drunks were sprawled out there from the night before and a few were up and walking around. Will approached another and repeated the question about Jack while Anna gazed at the waves lapping at the beach.

"Singapore, that's what I heard. Drunk with a smile on his face. Sure as the tide, Jack Sparrow will turn up in Singapore."

Xx

"Jack Sparrow?" Giselle asked, no longer trying to seduce Will.

"Haven't seen him in a month," Scarlett said. Anna took several steps back from the women's hostility and eyed them warily.

"When you find him will you give him a message?" Giselle asked. Will nodded hesitantly and she promptly slapped him hard across the face.

Xx

"Cannot say about Jack Sparrow. But there's an island just south of the straits where I trade spice for delicious lum pork. Cannot say about Jack. But you'll find a ship there…a ship with black sails," a Jamaican man told them. His dreadlocks fell around his face and his accent was tinted with French. Anna thought he might speak Creole.

Anna smiled brightly, this was the best lead they'd had all day. She would find Jack.

Xx

"My brother will take you ashore," he told Will and Anna, gesturing to another man and a longboat. Anna had been positively giddy ever since they'd sighted the Pearl, and practically jumped in the boat.

They were still a good deal away from the island when the man stopped rowing. He looked at them almost blankly and Will looked confused.

"What's wrong? The beach is right there," he said, pointing to the land. The _Pearl_ was beached, probably due to the recent tides, and the beach was deserted. The man shook his head and said something in rapid French.

Anna's head tipped to the side and tried to find some meaning in his words. She nodded suddenly, recognizing one of the words as 'dangerous.'

"What? What did he say?" Will asked.

"I caught the word dangerous, so I am assuming that means we are swimming the rest of the way," she said, climbing unsteadily to her feet and diving in. The water felt warm and familiar around her body, pushing her towards the land. The tide was coming in. She felt the disturbance in the water as Will dived in behind her.

When they made it to land, Anna's muscles were practically screaming and her head pounded. She didn't miss that part all that much. None the less, she stood up and walked towards the ship. Her boots felt soggy and heavy, but she didn't bother to remove them. They squished strangely as she approached the ship.

"Jack!" she shouted. Will echoed her. "Gibbs! Jack! Cotton! Marty? _ANYONE?_!" she bellowed with Will.

A blue flurry of feathers caught their attention and they tromped towards the jungle. "Ah, a familiar face," Will said brightly to the startled looking parrot.

"Don't eat me!" it called, flapping its wings in terror.

"We're not going to eat you," Will said, walking closer.

"Rawk! Don't eat me! Don't eat me!" It flew away quickly. Will turned to see Anna's ashen face. Her eyes were wide and her face was pale and haunted.

"Will, the parrot speaks for Cotton," she whispered. Will's eyes widened and he pulled her quickly into the jungle. He stopped suddenly and raised a hand to finger the familiar object.

"Gibbs!" He exclaimed, following the string it was tied to. Anna followed him quickly, casting her eyes around her surroundings. She gasped at the sight of a man. He was painted and leaning against a tree, blending in almost completely. If it wasn't for his eyes, she wouldn't have seen him.

"Will-" she tried to cry a warning, but she felt something sting her neck, and she collapsed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Jack, Jack, Jack, JACK. Yes, here he is folks! I was just as anxious as you about the whole thing, but here it is! Please enjoy and please please review!**

**-Han**

When she woke again, she was tied by her hands and feet to a wooden pole. Her skin chaffed uncomfortably and her back ached from being in the position. She tried to twist herself out and realized glumly that her sword and knives were no longer at her side. She was carried into a clearing filled with a tribe of dark-skinned people with very little clothing. She twisted her neck to see that Will had also been caught.

Suddenly her head jerked to the right. There on a throne, sat Captain Jack Sparrow. He held a staff in one hand and he wore some sort of feather and bone crown.

"Jack!" she cried in relief. His eyes snapped open and she realized that the eyes she thought had been seeing her were simply painted on. "Thank God!"

An almost imperceptible shake of his head and a widening of his eyes made her snap her mouth shut. Something was very very wrong.

"Jack, Jack Sparrow? I can honestly say I'm glad to see you," Will shouted out. Jack stood from his throne and casually walked around the two. Anna watched his familiar swaying walk and smiled at the thought of being near him again. He arrived at Will and unceremoniously poked him in the ribs. "Jack, it's me, Will Turner!"

"Pase ko," Jack said in the native language. Anna was too busy wondering how the hell he knew it to be too concerned with being tied up. Though she was fairly sure the skin around her wrists was raw.

"Tell them to let us down!" Will shouted after the natives shouted something.

"Kelay lum. Lum piki piki. Lum eensie weensie." He moved closer to will and made scissor like motions. "Lum say say eunuchey. Snip snip."

The natives nodded in understand with disgusted looks on their faces and Anna barked a laugh. Will glared at her, clearly thinking this was not the time. Anna on the other hand, was remembering the first day she met him, and the fight in the smithy.

"Jack, the compass! That's all I need! Elizabeth is in danger! We were arrested for trying to help you! She faces the gallows!" Will shouted, thrashing against the ropes.

"Snay say sha. Smomy lama shuku, savvy?" They gave him a blank look and he amended. "Bon liki liki."

"Bon liki liki!" they chorused. Jack leaned in close to Anna, his eyes now wide and slightly frightened.

"Save me!" he whispered. Anna gave him a concerned look and a curt nod and allowed them to carry her away. She still heard Will's shouting for Jack to help him and sighed. He could be really stupid sometimes.

Xx

Anna and Will were carried to a bridge, and stuffed unceremoniously into large bone cages. She clung to the bars as they were lowered sharply into a yawning cavern. The natives seemed to not know what 'gently' meant.

When they were finally left alone, and not afraid of the ropes snapping, Anna opened her eyes. A bright smile filled her face as she took in Gibbs and Cotton.

"Annie!" Gibbs exclaimed, pulling her into a fatherly hug. She repeated the process with a grinning Cotton. "It's good to be seein' ye, though under the circumstances…" he trailed off and she nodded understandingly.

"Why would Jack do this to us if he's the chief?" Will asked before Anna could say anything.

"Aye, the Pelegostas made Jack their chief. But he only remains chief as long as he acts like a chief," Gibbs said darkly.

"So he had no choice. He's a captive then as much as the rest of us," Will said, looking thoughtful.

"Why did he say he needed saving?" Anna spoke up, leaning against the cage.

"See, the Pelegostas believe Jack is a god in human form...and they intend to do him the honor of releasing him from his fleshy prison," Gibbs said. Cotton, upon seeing their blank looks, bit down on Gibbs' fingers. "Ah! They'll roast him and eat him!" he said, while nursing his injured fingers.

"Oh God!" Anna said, a hand unconsciously rose to her chest. Gibbs and Cotton pointedly stared at her ring.

"Where's the rest of the crew?" Will asked, saving her from having to explain.

"These cages we're in? Weren't built until _after_ we got here," Gibbs said, not bothering to move his hands from his grip on the bones. Anna and Will promptly let go and wipes their hands on their clothes. The people in both cages suddenly looked around themselves at the sound of heavily beating drums. "The feast is about to begin. Jack's life will end when the drums stop."

"Well then, let us be going," Anna said, smiling at them.

A minute later they were swinging precariously back and forth in the canyon. The second cage was right alongside them. Dirty hands outstretched towards the vine-covered sides and crew members were throwing themselves against the cages. Anna was just glad that Will had thought of it.

Finally, after what felt like forever, they found purchase on the cliff-face. "Put your legs through and start to climb!" Gibbs shouted. Anna was infinitely glad she'd had enough sense to change before leaving on this adventure. Climbing the side of a cliff in a brides' maids dress wouldn't work at all.

She felt her muscles protest and her arms grow heavy, and decided that she'd spend more time doing hard labor when she got back. Nearly all of the muscles she'd once had had become softer. Her arms were no longer as wiry and her back grew achy far faster. Her brown hair tangled around her shoulders and back and her fingers bled from the thorns on the vines.

"Come on men! It'll take all of us to crew the _Black Pearl_!" Will shouted. Anna didn't think that was right.

A dark skinned man in the second cage looked over and spoke evenly. "Actually, you wouldn't need everyone. Bout six would do."

Everyone stopped moving and looked at each other. Anna strained to hear something, anything, but only empty silence greeted them. "Damn," she hissed, gripping a vine harshly.

"Oh dear," the same man said.

"Hurry!" Will shouted. Anna doubled her efforts, and her body unwillingly complied. She would need a lot to drink to drown out the pain later. But she couldn't let up. Jack had to live. He just had to.


	6. Chapter 6

**HEY! Reunited and it feels so good! Yes, it's that time and you should love me!. I love you and your reviews and yea and stuff. So this is another update because I'm amazing. Please brighten my day and give me praise! ;)**

**-Han**

She was the first to see the cannibal on the bridge. "Wait! Stop! Stop!" She pointed upwards as everyone halted sharply. Will's eyes were wide and they all gripped their vines tightly, afraid to make any noise.

"Shh," the same dark-skinned man whispered, and motioned for them to continue climbing. His cage started moving carefully upwards and Anna and Will shook their heads sharply. Her eyes widened as she saw the man grab a vine that moved.

"Snake! Ah!" he shouted. His whole cage squirmed to get away and lost purchase on the cliff. The cage shot downwards, the rope snapping. The screams of the men echoed off the sides of the canyon as they crashed to the bottom. Anna glanced at the now screaming and running cannibal.

"Move!" she and Will shouted together. Their efforts seemed to multiply as it became a race for not only Jack's, but their lives as well. When they finally reached the top, a laugh of relief broke from Anna. The heaved themselves over the side and she allowed herself a second to breathe deeply.

"Cut it loose, find a rock!" Will shouted, scrounging around in the grass. Several men began sawing off the frayed rope and Anna gasped as they finally did. The moment the rope fell slack, thirty or so cannibals appeared with spears and arrows. "Roll the cage!" Will commanded. Anna began pushing, running to keep from being rolled over. They gained speed, rushing downhill until there was nothing any of them could do to keep up. Everyone groaned loudly as they were knocked around inside it, elbows hitting stomachs and legs kicking at heads.

Screams rose from all of them, as the cannibals managed to keep up. Anna let loose a terrified shriek as a tree came into view. They crash harshly against it and sat dazed for a moment. That was, until they realized that the cannibals had neither stopped nor slowed.

"Lift the cage!" Will shouted out. Anna bent and lifted it along with the rest of the crew.

"Aye, lads! Lift it like a ladies skirt!"

"I will yell at you about that later!" Anna shouted, taking offense in the comment but not having enough time to properly lecture him. Gibbs gave an apologetic look, but continued running. Anna could see a drop-off ahead of them and sent a prayer to any God in the vicinity for there to be water there.

"Run!" Will shouted, seeing the cannibals behind them.

"No! I just thought we would _all have bloody tea time_!" Anna shouted, the end of her sentence dissolving into a scream as they plummeted into a cavern.

Anna hastily spit up the saltwater that was choking her. It stung her eyes and throat and she cringed away from splinters of bone that broke from the cage as they plummeted into the water. 'There is a God,' she thought with reverence, as she swam backwards. The cannibals had arrived and were shooting arrows at them.

They all swam backwards away from the lethal weapons and sighed with relief when a young boy came up and got them all to leave. Anna kicked her feet, feeling waterlogged in the boots, and followed Gibbs and Will to land.

Xx

Anna was near the front of the group, running as fast as her legs could carry her towards the ship. Her legs struggled to keep a fast pace in the wet sand and her breathing made her lungs burn.

"Haul loose the mooring line! The mooring line!" Someone was shouting on deck. Anna heard the mutterings of another person, but didn't care all that much at the moment. She huffed out a breath and stopped just in front of the Pearl.

"Excellent, our work's half done!" Gibbs shouted, pulling himself up onto the ship.

"What about Jack?" Anna asked, looking around herself quizzically.

"I won't leave without him!" Will added. Suddenly both turned at the sound of a deep scream. Jack was running across the beach towards the Pearl, his arms waving maniacally and his eyes huge. The many eyes painted on his face were smeared and his trinkets were bouncing in his hair. "Time to go!"

Anna pulled herself onto the netting on the side of the ship and waited. Will had already climbed over and was helping Gibbs make the ship ready. She cast a sad look at the dog they were leaving behind, sending a quick prayer to her new-found gods to ensure its safety. Jack got closer and lunged for the netting. Anna gripped his forearm and hauled him next to her.

"Alas my children, this is the day you shall always remember as the day you almost-" He was cut off as a large wave rolled over the both of them. "Captain Jack Sparrow," he muttered.

Anna laughed loudly and pulled herself weakly over the railing of the Pearl. Jack joined her a moment later. As soon as he stood up, Anna had her arms around his waist, crushing him into a hug. She'd been terrified when she thought he would die. She didn't want him to die.

She'd missed him a lot more than she should have, and couldn't help the elated giggle that broke through her as she held him close. He hesitantly returned it and she was grinning when she pulled back.

"How ya been Captain?" she asked, stepping back slightly. She pointedly ignored Will and his attempts to barge into the conversation.

"I've been better, love," he said honestly, looking surprised at him self for saying anything less than perfect.

"I should expect almost being eaten is not one of your favorite memories," she replied falling easily into the mask of her old self. The pain and isolation was still there, but Jack and his wings pushed it aside.

"And you?"

"Oh, it has been terrible. I remember why I left the life now," she said with a grin. "But it is okay, because I am here now!"

"That you are, love," he replied looking her over. "I trust you didn't forget me?" he asked with a teasing smirk.

"Never," she said seriously. Jack stepped back and his jacket was draped across his shoulders by a nervous Pintel and Ragetti. Anna sent a sharp look at the man with the wooden eye and was met by such a helpless stare that she didn't say anything, only gave him a reassuring nod.

"Let's put some distance between us and that island and head out to open sea," Gibbs said, eyeing the beach warily.

"Yes to the first, yes to the second, but only insofar as we keep to the shallows as much as possible," Jack replied, looking at the open ocean with nervous eyes. Anna looked at him sharply, slightly afraid. He was never afraid of open sea. It was his life. She had never even seen nervousness anywhere in him before. Only calm, collected brilliance.

She paused, a thought burning in her mind. What if he had been just as broken the past year as her? What if he was just as _changed? _

"That seems a bit contradictory, Captain," Gibbs pointed out, moving past a slightly stunned Anna.

"I have every faith in your reconciliatory navigational skills, Master Gibbs. Now, where is that monkey? I want to shoot something," he said, pulling out his pistol and beginning to walk away. Anna snapped out of her thoughts, her heart still blazing with the questions that her mind didn't want to know the answer to. Jack was Jack. And he would be fine because he always was. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you so much for the reviews, guys! I love you all so freaking much!**

**-Han**

"Jack, Elizabeth is in danger," Will said, moving in front of him. His youthful eyes were drawn in worry and his voice sounded throaty and deeper than Anna recalled.

"Have you ever considered keeping a more watchful eye on her? Maybe just lock her up somewhere?" Jack asked, walking past him and towards the helm. Anna and Will followed quickly, her boots clicking slightly on the black deck. Absently, she looked over it, taking in the beautiful ship and rushing to stay near Jack all at once. He moved across it with a type of ancient familiarity that seemed to seep into the very fabric of his being until he was a part of the ship.

"She is locked up, in a prison. Bound to hang for helping you," Will said, fury in his eyes.

"There comes a time when one must take responsibility for one's mistakes," Jack said with an almost shaky grin. Anna looked at him piercingly, stopping in her tracks so abruptly that her balance was almost lost. Mistake? Helping him was a mistake?

Will turned sharply and yanked a sword from a passing crewmember. He pointed it quickly at Jack's throat. "I need that compass of yours, Jack. I must trade it for her freedom."

Anna looked carefully around herself until she found a sword and snatched it up quickly, feeling the familiar weight and knowing she would have something to protect herself, should she need it.

"Mr. Gibbs?" Jack asked, looking completely unconcerned with the sword at his neck.

"Captain?"  
>"We have a need to travel upriver," Jack said with a glint in his eyes.<br>"You mean a need as in a trifling need, fleeting, as in, say, a passing fancy?" He asked hopefully.  
>"No, a resolute and unyielding need," Jack replied, nodding his head a couple of times.<br>"What we need to do is to make sail for Port Royal with all haste," Will said dramatically.  
>"William, I shall trade you the compass, if you will help me to find this,' he said, producing an old piece of cloth. He laid it out and showed the both of them the drawing of an intricate looking key. Anna eyed it curiously and wondered if it had anything to do with him being afraid of open water. "And Annie…why are you here anyway?" he asked, his head tilting slightly.<p>

A thousand answers cluttered her mind at once, but she couldn't possibly tell him all of them. So she smiled, and brought a hand through her hair gently.

"Same as last time," she said shrugging. He gave a small grin, one that dropped abruptly when he caught sight of her left hand. He looked like he was going to comment on it, but was cut off.

"You want me to find this?" Will asked, looking at the key.

"No," Jack replied promptly. "You want you to find this. Because the finding of this finds you incapacitorially finding and or locating in your discovering the detecting of a way to free your dolly belle ol' what's her face, savvy?" He said all of this extremely quickly and Anna couldn't help the small giggle that broke free.

"This is going to save Elizabeth?" Will asked doubtfully. Anna sobered and glanced at Jack.

"How much do you know about Davy Jones?" he asked cryptically. Anna knew quite a bit about him. She was a story person, after all. But she didn't say anything, since Will's answer seemed to make him rather happy.

"Not much," he said truthfully.

"Yeah, it's gonna save Elizabeth."

Xx

Anna gazed over the railing of the Pearl and marveled at the changes. In less than a year, it had been restored to absolute glory. The sails were still black, but also full and whole. The deck and woodwork gleamed and she imagined the sweat and blood that went into the changes. Her eyes found the horizon again and she smiled wistfully.

Her gaze was drawn to the ring on her finger and she glared at it hatefully. She belonged here, on the sea, not with Beckett. With Jack.

No. That thought couldn't possible be right. She didn't like Jack that way. She couldn't. He'd barely spoken to her at all since showing Will and her the key; simply walked to the helm and stood, looking out over open water and close land. Every time she approached him, his piercing eyes would stay trained on the horizon and she would walk away slowly, as if she expected for him to call her back. She couldn't understand his sudden dislike of her, and wondered if it would have been better for her to have stayed behind.

She sighed loudly to herself and closed her eyes. The wind blew her hair back and brushed against her face. She hummed a tune to herself and fingered the rail.

"Congratulations," Jack's voice spoke from behind her. She didn't turn to look at him; his voice was too cold and harsh.

"Whatever for?" she asked, returning the cool edge, wishing she could force her words to contract, but knowing that the lessons were too instilled in her to be easily forgotten.

"Your engagement," he answered. She finally opened her eyes and turned to him. He was shocked to see the unspoken hurt in her eyes.

"How could I forget?" she asked, her voice matching his coldness. Her mouth opened, as if to tell him something of the utmost importance, but he cut her off.

"You're not the same," he said quietly. If she could have seen his eyes, she would have fallen into the depths of their sadness. But the almost black eyes were fixed on the horizon and his hands gripped the railing.

Anna practically flinched. She knew she'd changed. She'd had to. She became the princess she was meant to be and learned to shut everyone out. She survived through lessons, learning them or being deprived of food or water for a few days. Acting out was intolerable and something inside her eventually died. She had no will to fight back. The spirit in her heart had left with Jack. Or maybe, it was her heart that had left. Her eyes filled with salty tears and she tried to blink them back.

"I-I never meant to change," she whispered, so low she couldn't be sure if he'd heard her or not. He stared blankly ahead of him, not acknowledging her. She finally turned and ran away from him, taking shelter below decks. If she'd stayed, maybe she would have heard him whisper to the wind.

"Me neither."


	8. Chapter 8

**HI! your reviews make my life! seriously! alright, this chapters kinda heavy, but I promise it won't stay this way forever! I LOVE YOU!**

**-Han**

Cotton found her below decks, sobbing like he'd never seen her sob before. He let her cling to him, and patted her hair gently as she cried and stuttered out botched sentences.

"I-I just w-wanted to…and now I can't…I should have….he hates me! He hates me so much! I hate me too. I am so stupid," she whispered, her eyes clenched shut. Her head was shaking by itself, somehow conveying her denial and hurt. She should have just left with him. Damn the crown and damn the navy. Jack would've found a way.

But now she was just a helpless wreck of a princess. Damn her title too. Damn it all. Memories flashed before her eyes and she scrunched her eyes shut against them, her body rocking back and forth with the force of her sobs.

_"Annabelle! What in God's name where you thinking? Running off like that, you completely insulted the crown!" Her father screamed at her, his voice echoing off the ornate walls._

_ "I'm sorry father," she whispered the only words that would break free from her trembling lips._

_ "And to go gallivanting after pirates? Just who do you think you are?"_

_ "I'm no one," she said softly._

_ "You are damn well right! I took you in, I fed you, clothed you, gave you the title girls would kill for! And how do you repay me? By throwing in your lot with a pirate?"_

_ "He's a good man!" she shouted despite herself. She froze, her breathing hard and her hands shaking._

_ "_What?" _Her father asked dangerously. She flinched from his voice, but would not back down._

_ "Captain Jack Sparrow is a good man," she repeated, her hands fisting at her sides in preparation of the inevitable blow she would receive. His hand raised, poised to strike her._

_ "You ungrateful little bitch," he growled. He dropped his hand, walking out of her room and holding the handle tightly. "Maybe a few weeks alone in here will change your mind on the subject," he hissed, before slamming it shut behind him. Anna slumped against the far wall as she heard a lock click shut. Tears broke from her eyes and made salty trails down her cheeks._

_ "Save me, Jack. Please," she whispered to no one._

But now he hated her. The thought alone made her sick. Life just wasn't worth it anymore. Nothing was. Her best friend hated her and with good reason. Will still didn't trust her and anyone who she'd ever loved was keeping her at arms length. She was doomed to marry the biggest bastard in the entire bloody world and she didn't even have Jack to talk to.

When she'd regained some form of control, she looked up at the old man. He gave her a slow smile and she struggled to return it. When it was dark, he led her back on deck and she tugged his arm. Following her lead, they laid down in the center of the deck. The dark wood was cool beneath her body and her eyes lifted to the just appearing stars. They would arrive soon.

The few crewmembers still working ignored the pair of them and she didn't have the slightest idea where Will and Jack were.

"Cotton, have you ever wondered what it would be like to die?" she asked, staring raptly at the sky. Her eyes flickered to him long enough for him to shake his head with a confused expression on his face.

Jack was at the helm, listening to her intently. He'd tried not to notice how she leaned heavily on Cotton, as if suffering a great weight. He'd watched with curiosity as she made him lay next to her on deck, and he remembered when the pair of them had laid on the sand with the water swirling around them.

And then she'd asked the question and he blinked to reality sharply. He'd been wondering what it'd be like to die, but he had good reason. The black spot was the mark that told him he would find out very soon. But she shouldn't have such worries. He knew she had become harsher on the outside, shutting off the world with a blank smile. He wasn't sure how she could act so well. When she'd embraced him, he'd felt the warmth bloom across his skin and remembered her so clearly. But the look in her eyes was distant and her heart was closed.

He shook himself and returned to listening as she began her explanation.

"I have been wondering for a while. Something about being trapped makes you think about it. I have always hoped it would be quick. Nothing long or drawn out, because the pain would be so terrible. When I was on the sinking ship, when I was fourteen, I had thought that death was vicious and cruel and fiery. This burning evil thing that would devour you if you didn't fight it. A force you could not beat and the hand of it would suffocate you and the wings would carry you away and the whole time you'd be begging for some sort of relief from the pain," she was saying. Her voice carried through the still night, and those on deck were just staring at her. She noticed absently that she was slipping back into contractions, and speaking as she normally would. Jack heard it too, but was busy shuddering involuntarily. He'd thought of death like that more than once. "But I really think," she started up again.

"I really think it's the escape. It's the thing that frees you from the bonds of life and when it is over your running and flying and the breezes carry you and it's all okay. I think its relief and fire and ice and good. I think it's natural, and that it has to happen. So we shouldn't fear it. I do not think it's meant to be scary. And you know what Cotton? I don't think I'm all that afraid anymore," she whispered. He was looking at the sky, trying to convince himself that she was speaking hypothetically.

Jack was hanging his head, his knuckles white on the spokes of the wheel. His breathing was harsh and ragged. How could he have thought her so different? On the inside she was just the same. Eccentric, thoughtful, different. Beautiful.

That last one had always confused him. Skin deep she was, undeniably, beautiful. But when he said it he meant beneath that and it had frightened him slightly. To think a woman truly beautiful, inside and out, meant to care for her. He didn't _care_ for people. He appreciated their company or their loyalty or their help, but he didn't really care.

But he did about her. He sighed deeply to himself and felt like he should be knocked with something heavy. She was his best friend, just like she said he was hers.


	9. Chapter 9

**Please please please review, it means so freaking much!**

**-Han**

Anna stayed on the deck until they arrived. She climbed numbly into the long boat, her hands fisted in her lap. Her mind was alive with guilt, guilt for what she was feeling. What she hadn't said, when she was talking to Cotton, was that she welcomed the idea now. She was not only, not afraid of death, but was ready for it. Encouraging it, even.

Just the thought made her sick to her stomach. What kind of person was she? To reject everything anyone had ever given her? She led a privileged life, she was lucky. But she wanted more. And now that she couldn't have it, she was ready to give up?

She pulled herself from her thoughts as Will spoke to Gibbs.

"Why is Jack afraid of the open ocean?" he asked, while Anna gazed wearily around her. The night was suffocating beneath the heavy vegetation, and the boat skimmed the water smoothly.

"Well if you believe such things there's a beast that does the bidding of Davy Jones. A monstrous creature with giant tentacles that'll suction your face clean off, and drag an entire ship down to the crushing darkness," He said cryptically. His sailor inclination for a good story making him unconsciously lean forward with the excitement of another telling.

"The Kraken," Anna whispered. Gibbs looked at her sharply. "I know the story," she said quietly. The man sighed, disappointment creeping into his face, but at the sight of her eyes that reminded him of a child's he waved for her to continue. "The monster's ancient, the terror of the Leviathan alone could kill any land-walking man," she said, looking at Will. "But to those who belong to the sea, its worse. It's mouth is but a yawning cavern of teeth, and it's breath…I shall just say my prayers are sent to those whose last moments are spent staring into it's roar and smelling the stench of a thousand rotting corpses," she said, shuddering slightly.

"If you believe such things," Gibbs added.

"And the key will spare him this?" Will asked.

"Well, that's the very question Jack wants answered, bad enough even to go visit _her_," Gibbs said cryptically.

"Her?" Anna asked, a strange uncomfortable feeling brewing in her belly. Jealousy? No. It could only be hunger.

"Aye."

The boat continued to glide peacefully through the dark water and Anna wondered if you could slip beneath it and stay down there. She wondered what you would find within it's silky embrace.

When they finally reached a hut, elevated on stilts above the water, Jack hopped out. His eyes were worried, but a smile stretched his face. Anna shifted nervously, unhappy with Jack's uncertainty. He was never this frazzled. He'd changed in the year they'd been apart.

"No worries, mates. Tia Dalma and I go way back. Thick as thieves. Nigh inseparable we are...were...have been...before..." he trailed off, looking considerably less happy.

"I'll watch your back," Gibbs said loyally.

"It's me front I'm worried about," he muttered. Anna wasn't sure what possessed her to do it, considering how upset he was with her, but she did it anyway. She laid a gentle hand to his arm and gave him a firm nod, confirming that she would watch out for him. He gave an almost imperceptible smile and led the way inside, while choruses of 'mind the boat,' floated through the quiet air.

"Jack Sparra!" a dark skinned woman said, as they walked in the room. Her hair was dreadlocked and tangled, her eyes a mischievous cocoa and her dress was ripped and layered with old, dirty lace.

"Tia Dalma!" Jack proclaimed, his arms wide in a welcoming gesture. He swallowed uncomfortably when he almost hit a jar of some body parts handing from the ceiling.

The shack was cluttered, odds and ends scattered throughout every available surface. Anna looked around in intrigue and noted a jar of eyes to the right with distaste.

"I always knew de wind would blow ye back to me someday," she flirted. She paused suddenly at the sight of Will and pointed a finger at him. "You, you have a touch of destiny 'bout you, William Turner," she said in her slightly raspy accent. Will leaned closer slightly, as if she held all the answers to the world.

"You know me?" he asked.

"You want to know me?" she flirted, her eyes twinkling. Anna shook her head in disdain and drifted further back, ignoring the exchange.

"There'll be no knowing here!" Jack interjected. Anna tuned them out and began absentmindedly looking over the jewelry on the far cabinet. She paused suddenly, as her fingertips grazed a locket. The tarnished sliver was a heart, some sort of face carved into it. She looked at it, curiosity burning in her eyes as she tilted her head to inspect it closer. She could practically feel the sadness blooming from it and felt her face drop.

Should anyone have seen her face; they would have seen the unguarded pain she'd been harboring since she was a little girl. She thought it'd dimmed so much when she'd met Jack, but being separated from him only brought it back and then some. Should anyone have seen her; they would have stepped back and refused to meet her eyes. Should anyone have seen her, they would have understood.


	10. Chapter 10

**Please please review! seriously. it means so much. This one's longer. Love me!**

**-Han**

"Annabelle, come sit down," Will said, his voice still flitting between politeness and bitterness. She closed her eyes against the storm raging in her body and turned around slowly. Tia's eyes were fixed on hers as she opened them. The sea-blue eyes were blank as they gazed into brown. The voodoo woman gave her a curious glance.

Anna walked closer and sat on a barrel between Will and Jack. She met the woman's stare and said in a small voice that was very much unlike her; "That locket is very sad."

Tia's stare was joined by everyone else's, wondering what she was talking about. Slowly, Tia nodded her head in agreement. "So, you be the pirate princess?" she asked, a hand coming out to brush over Anna's. The latter woman flinched from the name. "You're future be clouded. So many choices. So much pain."

"Nothing new," Anna muttered, drawing her hand away. Tia looked at her with something close to sympathy before her eyes cleared and she turned her attention back to Jack.

"You know I demand payment," she said, the soft tone gone from her voice. Jack turned from looking at Anna curiously, to pick up a cage.

"Look!" he shot the monkey behind the bars. The thing screeched and jumped. "An undead monkey! Top that!" he said happily. Tia reached over and opened the cage, ignoring Gibbs' shout.

"De payment is fair," she said, leaning back slightly. Anna watched the monkey run to a back room, where a pair of boots rested. She furrowed her eyebrows, thinking. It couldn't be…could it?

"We're looking for this," Will said, unfolding the drawing. "And what it leads to."

"The compass you bartered from me. It cannot lead you to this?" she asked incredulously. Harshness had crept into her features.

"Maybe. Why?" Jack said his eyes wide.

"Ah, Jack Sparrow does not know what he wants! Or do you know, but are loathe to claim it as your own?" Her eyes flitted to Anna, but she was looking at her hands in dejection. "Your key go to a chest. And it's what lay inside the chest you seek. Don't it?"

Anna looked up, intrigued. If it was what she thought it was, she wanted to be a part of this conversation.

"What's inside?" Gibbs asked hurriedly.

"Gold? Jewels? Unclaimed properties of a valuable nature?" Pintel asked, a greedy look in his eyes.

"Nothin' bad I hope," Ragettit murmured, looking at the jar of eyes. Anna gave him a reassuring smile and looked back to Tia.

"You know of Davy Jones, yes? A man of the sea, a great sailor. Till he run afoul of that which vex all men," Tia said, looking inquiringly at the group. Anna was nodding, knowing the story well.

"What vexes all men?" Will asked.

"Well, the sea," Gibbs said, ever the sailor.

"Sums?" Pintel asked.

"The dichotomy of good and evil?" Ragetti asked. Everyone turned to stare at him, though Anna's look was with appreciation. She didn't know he was that smart.

"A woman," she finally said, at the same time as Jack. They looked accusingly at each other, but turned back to the woman before them.

"A woman. He fell in love," Tia said, her eyes showing something like pride.

"No, no, no, no I heard it was the sea he fell in love with," Gibbs interjected. Anna shook her head at him.

"No it was a woman."

"Same story, different versions, all are true," Tia cut in harshly. "It was a woman as changing, harsh, and untamable as the sea. Him never stop loving her. But the pain it cause him was too much to live with, but not enough to cause him to die," she said. Anna shuddered, she felt his pain. She wanted the sea, adventure, love, but she would never have it. She would never be really free, and she couldn't bring herself to take her own life. She was not that weak.

"What exactly did he put in the chest?" Will asked. Anna looked up and opened her mouth, and Tia nodded for her to say it.

"His heart," she said sadly. For a man to love a woman that much…it made her want to cry. Love couldn't be worth that much pain. Could it?

"Literally or figuratively?" Ragetti asked dubiously.

"He couln't litrally put his heart in a chest. Could he?" Pintel ended with the question and a sharp look.

"It was not worth feeling what small, fleeting joy life brings, and so him carve out him heart, lock it away in a chest, and hide the chest from the world. The key, he keep with him at all times," she finished, watching as Anna shook herself.

'Life's worth it. Life's worth it. Life's worth it,' she chanted to herself in her mind. She had the unpleasant feeling that Tia knew what she was thinking.

"You knew this," Will's accusing voice broke across her thoughts and she flinched back, before realizing he was talking to Jack.

"I did not!" he shouted, as if offended. "I didn't know where the key was, but now we do. So all that's left is to climb aboard the Flying Dutchman, grab the key, you go back to Port Royal and save your bonnie lass, eh?" He said all of this quickly, his eye twitching slightly. Anna looked at him in concern.

"Let me see yer hand," Tia demanded. Jack tried to show the right one, but at her harsh look, revealed his left. She unwrapped it and Anna gasped. The black spot.

"Black Spot!" the sailors chorused, spitting on the ground and spinning around quickly. Anna met Jack's eyes and looked at him in utter shock. He wasn't supposed to die!

"My eyesight's just as good as ever you know," Jack said dryly.

"Oh, Jack," Anna whispered. Jack looked down at her sharply, seeing she was still seated. He thought he saw a ghost of the woman on Rum Runner's island, but he turned away before he was sure. He couldn't afford to be distracted now. Tia ghosted from the room as Jack wandered around the cabinets.

He rifled through the jewelry, pocketing a ring. He paused at the locket, wondering why Anna thought it was sad. He let his fingers brush it gently, but couldn't understand.

Tia reappeared a moment later, holding a jar of sand. "Davy Jones cannot make port, cannot step on land but once every ten years," she said. "Land is where you are safe, Jack Sparrow, so you will carry land with you." She held the jar out and Jack took it gingerly.

"This is a jar of dirt," he said softly.

"Yes."

"Is the jar of dirt going to help?" Jack asked, staring at it.

"If ye don' wan' it, give it back," Tia threatened, holding her hands out. Jack cradled the jar to his chest like an infant.

"No," he said childishly. And as if a spell of depression around her had broken, Anna collapsed into a fit of giggles. Tia smiled triumphantly as the woman gasped for air and her chest rose and fell heavily. Will glanced at her in exasperation and Jack gave her a mock glare.

He hauled her up and she sat back down, covering her mouth with his hand to silence herself.

"It seems we have a need to find the Flying Dutchman," Will said, looking away from her.

"A touch…of destiny," Tia said, casting bones on the mapped table in front of her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, this goes out to LittleMissDreamer7, who I want to thank dearly for reading this while you were sick. Please get better, and I hope you enjoy this!**

**-Han**

As they were about to leave, the voodoo woman pulled Anna aside. She waved Jack ahead, whose blank looks were beginning to draw her back into her depression.

"Don' fret over the affection's of Sparrow," Tia said looking at her sternly. "He is still a friend to ye."

"He isn't acting much like one," Anna muttered, her eyes on the ground.

"Aye," she said with a smile, "An' since when did all dat change?" She asked, looking pointedly at her engagement ring.

"Jack would never," Anna started, staring down at the glitzy diamond. Her voice trailed off weakly.

Tia laughed, a throaty, hoarse kind of thing and looked at her with serene eyes. "Jack is but a man who does not understan'," she said quietly, as if she knew everything about this subject.

"What do I do?" Anna asked softly, her eyes still locked on the ring.

"You mus make 'im see de truth," she said simply, as if it were obvious.

"And how do I do that?" Anna asked again, annoyance creeping into her eyes as she was denied a straight answer.

"I'm not one to tell ye all de answers," Tia said with equal annoyance. "Find a way yerself."

"Okay, I'll try it," she sighed, her eyes fluttering back to the cabinet for a moment. She looked up at the voodoo woman and gave her a warm look. "And Miss Dalma? That locket of yours…I do not think sadness is the only thing it holds," she said, a slight smile on her face. Tia grinned, her slightly black teeth showing.

"I know, youn' one. I know. Now go back to yer adeventure," she said, waving her off. Anna smiled brightly and waved back, joining the others in the boats. The night was still clear, and she looked up at the starry sky like every night and hoped she could mend things with Jack soon.

Xx

Rain pelted her on all sides and she wished she could just go inside. But she needed to be here, even if everyone was ignoring her. She squinted through the rain at the wreck before them. The ship looked as though it split right down the middle. The darkness pressed around her and she shivered with fear.

She wasn't sure if that was actually the Dutchman, was positive it wasn't, actually. But Jack had a plan of some sort in the back of his mind, and she would trust him.

"That's the Flying Dutchman?" Will screamed through the wind and the rain. "She doesn't look like much."

"Neither do you," Anna quipped, her eyes never leaving the stormy waves.

"Do not underestimate her," Jack said in warning. It went unnoticed to Will, and Jack elbowed Gibbs discretely.

"Ow. Must've run afoul of a reef!" Gibbs shouted, looking wearily around himself.

"So what's your plan then?" Jack asked, walking closer to Will, seeming unaffected by the rain. Anna muttered something under her breath about pirates not having any bloody trouble with the elements and shivered.

"I row over, search the ship until I find your bloody key," Will shouted back over the roar of the rain and the sea.

"And if there are crewmen?" Jack asked, almost condescendingly.

"I cut down anyone in my path," Will said cryptically. Anna almost believed him too. Almost. But she had grown up with the boy, and knew better than anyone that things rarely went the way Will planned. But she hoped for once it would.

"I like it! Simple, easy to remember," Jack said, slapping him on the back. Will went as Ragetti called him and Anna moved closer to Jack, rubbing her arms to create friction.

"Do you think he'll survive?" she asked quietly, as if not wanting to hear the answer. Jack looked at her for a long moment before leaning over the edge of the rail.

"Oy! If you do happen to get captured, just say Jack Sparrow sent you to settle his debt. Might save your life!"

He stepped back and watched him row away for a moment. Anna gave Jack a soft sort of smile, one that said she trusted him.

"Douse the lamps," Jack muttered. Anna stood stiffly beside him, a sudden fear gripping her.

"Something's very wrong," she muttered, mostly to herself. Jack was nodding slowly.

"Everything is nowadays," he replied. Suddenly a ship burst out of the water, decrepit and fierce all at the same time, it bobbed on the water. Anna gasped and gripped Jack's jacket on reflex. She sent him a panicked look, one that pleaded and begged.

It was more terrifying than she ever thought it would be. Ghostly and green from the sea, she found it more frightening than the Pearl had been all those years before. This was the Flying Dutchman, crewed by the damned. Captained by a man so bloodthirsty and vicious even a Leviathan, a monster of monsters, bowed to his whim. The sails were the color of the sea, dripping water onto the cracked and barnacle covered deck.

She turned away from the sight, her breathing slightly heavy as she turned to Jack.

"Please tell me we'll all be okay," she whispered. When Jack didn't answer she blinked the water out of her eyes and tightened her grip. "Lie to me. Jack, lie to me, please."

"Everything will be alright, love," he said finally, wrapping an arm around her. "Everything will be just fine."

"I'm sorry you hate me," she mumbled, refusing to look at the ship behind her.

"I don't hate you love," he said, watching a sword of flame appear and disappear quickly. Will was fighting back.

"Yes you do. It's okay, I hate me too."

"Why do you hate yourself?" he asked, looking down at her.

"I was too scared to go with you," she whispered. She pulled away slowly, giving him a sad smile. He returned it and brought up his spyglass. Jones turned to him. Those haunted sea-colored eyes burning through the empty space to his very soul.

Jack pulled the spyglass away from his face and a slew of curses flew through his mind as he saw the crew surrounded by the fish people. Their bodies morphed with the dark creatures of the sea and dripping onto the black deck. Jones himself stood in front of him.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey! Thank you guys so so so much for the reviews and the love and you mean so much to me, honestly. So here's the next chapter, and then we have some heart to heart action with Jackie. I know a lot of you were waiting for that ;). I love you guys so much! Please review!**

**-Han**

"Oh," Jack said, snapping the spyglass shut with nervous fingers. Anna knew better than to struggle against the thing holding her. She did shift away slightly though, trying to escape the smell of rotting fish. The thing that held her tightened his grip. Barnacles cut into her skin and she was sure there would be bruises. She felt her back damped with sea water and kept her hands fisted at her sides. The slimy texture of its clothes pressed against her uncomfortably and she shivered in disgust as its head moved closer to her.

"'Ello love," it hissed in her ear, sliding slick flesh across her skin and she had to swallow sharply when she realized its head was that of an eel.

"Don't call me love," she spat. It chuckled darkly and a knife around her throat tightened. She turned her attention to the one she knew as Jones. An inexplicable wave of sadness drowned her, just thinking of what made him become like this. A claw for a hand, a wooden leg, and a tentacle beard. His eyes were piercing and unrelenting. She wondered if he ever thought of the woman who made him like this, if that was why he was so cruel.

"You have a debt to pay," he said, his accent almost Scottish. "You've been Captain of the Black Pearl for thirteen years. That was our agreement!" His voice boomed over the sea and the silence that followed was so deafening Anna thought you could hear a coin being thrown into he water from here.

That was why Jack had made a deal? Anna knew she shouldn't be surprised; he loved this ship more than anything. A wistful smile came across her face, just thinking of what he must've looked like when he reclaimed it as his own outside of Port Royal.

"Technically, I was only Captain for two years. Then I was viscously mutinied upon," he reminded, his voice wavering slightly. It was enough to put fear into Anna's mind. What if they really didn't make it out of this?

"Then you were a poor Captain." Anna didn't agree with that. He'd been too good of a man and too trusting, but that didn't make him a bad Captain. "But a Captain nonetheless. Have you not introduced yourself all theses years as _Captain Jack Sparrow_?" he asked in a patronizing voice.

"You've already got my payment. One soul to serve on your ship…he's already over there," Jack said, pointing to the wrecked ship. Anna gasped, he wouldn't. He couldn't. Her mind went reeling to all the time she and Will had spent together as children. All the time he was her brother in all but blood. It was killing her inside to be so distant from him. Jack knew how much he meant to her.

'Pirate,' a voice said in her mind. She bit her lip to keep from crying out and glared at him. Will may not care for her as much, knowing who she really was, but she still loved him like the brother she'd never had. Still thought of him on days when she passed swords mounted on the walls in the castle or when she saw naïve little kitchen boys.

"One soul is not equal to another," Jones said. Jack looked as though his birthday had come early.

"Aha! So we've established my proposal is sound in principle, now we're just haggling over price," he said quickly. Anna smiled slightly to herself as she watched Jack play the devil himself.

"Price?" Jones questioned with a pop from his tentacles.

"Just how many souls do you think mine is worth?" Jack asked, a smirk curving his lips.

"One hundred souls. Three days," Jones declared, looking pleased with himself and his stakes. The malice remained in his eyes and Anna though they could strike a man with a terror so vicious it was paralyzing.

"You're a diamond, mate. Send me back the boy and I'll get started right off," Jack said suavely. Anna sighed, realizing that he was trying to save Will. She let herself hope for a moment, hope that her brother would be returned and she could mend the split they had created together.

"I keep the boy. A good faith payment. That leaves you only ninety-nine to go!"

Anna struggled against the thing holding her, her lip bleeding with the force of her biting down on it. She had to give Jack a chance before she lost it, but everything was screaming at her to save them. Both of them. Jack and Will, the two men she felt her world revolved around.

"Have you not met Will Turner? He's noble, heroic, terrific soprano, worth at least four, maybe three and a half? And did I mention, he's in love?" Jack said. Anna paused as a look of softness crept over Jones's features. His eyes grew gentle and his mouth drooped from the permanent scowl he had been wearing. She felt as if her heart were breaking as Jones was taken back to place where he might've been happy, might've been human, even. A place where he loved a woman and a woman loved him. "With a girl. Due to be married. Betrothed. Dividing him from her and her from him would only be half a cruel as actually allowing them to be joined in holy matrimony. Eh?"

The gentleness fled from his face and he turned to Jack with a growl. "I keep the boy."

"No!" Anna finally shouted. Writhing violently beneath her captor. The things eel head sniggered as Jones turned his eyes and looked at her in amusement. "Take me instead!" she offered, her eyes pleading with the cursed Captain.

Jack sent her a disbelieving look and shook his head sharply at her. Jones walked over to her, and she shrank back slightly from the evil glint in his eyes. He surveyed her distantly, as if she were no more than a new sword he might want to purchase.

"And you are?" he asked.

"Annabelle Windsor," she said, struggling to keep her voice even. Jones seemed surprised for a moment.

"The Princess?" he asked, his Scottish lilt making the word sound almost musical.

"Yes. Would-would my soul be worth more, if I should go in Will's place?" she asked. She needed to help Jack, keeping him alive was the biggest thing. Will could handle himself aboard the Dutchman, and she had no doubt that Jack could get him back. But not if he had to look for ninety-nine. She could ease the burden.

Jones looked thoughtful for a moment, while Jack was furiously shaking his head. Jones looked like he might agree, might actually do it. Then his eyes fell to the ring.

"You're the one he loves?" he asked patronizingly. She opened her mouth to object but he turned away. He would not let her sacrifice herself for her 'loved one'. Love did not exist. Might as well ease the pain for both of them now, before they risked their lives for one another. "I keep the boy, ninety- nine souls. But I wonder, Sparrow. Can you live with this? Can you condemn an innocent man, a friend, to a lifetime of servitude while you roam free?" Jones asked, as if waiting for Jack to just offer himself up.

"Yup! I'm good with it!" Jack said proudly. "Shall we seal it in blood…err…ink?" he corrected himself. Jones gripped his hand and a tentacle slimed itself over the skin.

"Three days," he said cryptically.

"Three days," the crewmen echoed as they let everyone go. She felt the slimy eel roll off of her neck and back and Anna slumped to the ground, her eyes hollow on the ring on her finger. She wanted to throw it to the depths, but she knew she had to keep to her bargain.

Her reasoning had spun ahead. Beckett no doubt wanted the chest. If he got it, he could make Will go free. But that wouldn't happen unless she was married to him. As much as it would hurt to be trapped by the vile man, she needed to keep Jack and Will safe. She couldn't live if one of them were to die, not when she could have done something. If it meant sacrificing her freedom, she would do it.


	13. Chapter 13

**WHOO! Alrightie, thanks a billion to the reviewers! again, I really hope that LittleMissDreamer7 feels better soon, I love you to death! And Ang, if I could I would respond to you, but it wont let me. Your reviews are one of the highlights of my day. Seriously.**

**All my love.**

**-Han**

Anna was dimly aware of someone picking her up, and carrying her to a room. The rolling motions of the deck made it feel as if the person were walking perfectly upright, and the person's arms were strong and wiry with years of work at sea. The room was large, black furniture and walls and a desk against the back windows. Rum bottles and lamplight were the favored decorations and the bed in to corner looked soft and comfortable. She was sure it wasn't her own. Her cabin was small and cramped, in comparison to this one, her bed a mere cot. The person took off her boots, then her vest and effects. Her sword clattered to the floor but she doesn't notice. She stood there in her poet's shirt and breeches, her eyes still locked on her left hand, her face glazed over in a sort of trance.

"Love?" he asked, as he watched her stare at the glitzy ring. "Love, get some rest," he urged, turning away from her and beginning to walk towards the door.

"Jack?" she asked, suddenly. He turned back to her, a patient expression on his face. "Jack, I don't want to get married," she said quietly. She sat heavily on his bed, drawing a pillow to her and clutching it to her chest. Her eyes were wide and pleading, as if him simply listening could save her from the inevitable.

"Why not?" Jack asked, walking closer to her.

"I hate him," she murmured, her hair falling around her pale face. Her fingers clutched the thin fabric of the pillow, playing with the edges nervously as she refused to look at him.

"Why?" Jack asked, sitting next to her. He felt lighter, knowing that she was being forced to marriage. If you asked him why he'd been upset when he first found out, he'd tell you that he hated that she was lying to the world. He would say that he hated to see her cower from the adventure she loved behind a man.

And that was part of the reason.

"He's evil. The most vile man I've ever met," she said, still refusing to meet his eyes. "He tricked me into marriage by promising Will and Elizabeth's freedom. He's the one who arrested them in the first bloody place. He acts like he's so superior to me, like I cannot be his equal," she hissed out. "He wants me bound to him to make himself more powerful. He wants control. And-And…"

"And?" Jack asked, his stomach feeling strange. He didn't like this man…not one bit. The thought of her tied down to someone so vile was burning a hole in his chest. He didn't want to imagine her ghosting through the halls of some fancy manor, her face blank but eyes longing for the sea. He didn't want to think of her bearing this man's children, raising each and every one into the higher classes, instead of breathing in adventure and danger. He didn't want to think of her in thick corsets and huge gowns, with powder to cover the light tan of her cheeks. He didn't want to see her with a lace fan in hand, instead of a sword.

Instead of answering him, Anna gripped his arm and rolled up the sleeve, her fingers ghosting over his brand. The 'P' stood out against his skin, forever an angry red. Almost unconsciously, his free hand skimmed her forearm, where he knew her own scars to be.

"He's the one that gave you this," she whispered, water threatening to break from her eyes. Her own scars were covered, but still gnawed at her mind when she moved. The pull always made her limbs feel heavy after a swim. And Jack was letting his fingers ghost over the fabric that covered them. Shared pain. Shared feeling, between them.

"Beckett," Jack spat, his hand stilling on her arm and his eyes growing dark and cold and vicious. The dark brown faded into steely black, hatred blooming across his face,

"I hate him so much, Jack," she whimpered, never looking him in the eye. Her head hung as if in shame as he wrapped an arm around her.

"Then don't go back," he said softly, as if it were obvious and easy. Her head shook back and forth, her brown hair swaying around her face. Her fingers knotted in the pillow, her eyes shifting over the floor as if it held the answers.

"If we can't get Will back I'll have to," she muttered, almost to herself.

"And if we can get him back?" Jack asked, feeling almost certain that the boy could find a way off. If anyone could, it would be that boy. The boy with something to fight for. Jack sometimes wondered why he would choose Elizabeth, why he would give up anything for her. Especially when the one worth saving was next to him the whole time. She left behind her safe world to save Elizabeth, a woman she didn't even like, all for the sake of a brother she was not even related to. And both times she needed him, he wasn't there.

Sometimes Jack wondered why William turned his back on Annabelle after finding out her real last name. It didn't matter to him, and he was a pirate. But Will, Will left the woman out to dry and Jack had seen the awkward way she tried to act around him, striving for familiarity and getting nothing. And again, she was willing to give everything away if he needed her.

It was something Jack often wondered about, but could never understand.

"Then I'll still go," she muttered. Jack began pulling away, his cold look back in place. He couldn't afford to allow her in again if she were just going to leave him. If she would reject the world he offered her, reject him, he wouldn't bother with her at all. That would make the inevitable easier, he told himself firmly. "So I can formally renounce my title," she finished quickly, as if the words could not come out fast enough and she would choke on them.

"What?" he asked stupidly. His mouth was slack and his eyes were wide, trying to understand the words he was hearing. They matched with the movements of her lips but they did not make sense to him.

"I want to be free," she whispered, finally turning to look at him. Her eyes were watery, and Jack was surprised by how red they were, still managing to keep the tears back. "Free like you."

"You would give up all that?" he asked, staring down at her with kohl lined eyes. He would by lying if he said he wasn't allowing himself to hope right then.

"Yes. I should have the moment I got back to Port Royal, but I was too scared. I'm not afraid anymore," she murmured, never breaking eye contact, and Jack thought the moment was more intimate than she thought it was.

"When did you decide this?" he asked curiously, his husky voice still serious and dumbfounded.

"After I talked to Tia," she said shrugging, trying and failing to appear nonchalant. "I want to be me again, birdie," she whispered. A grin worked its way onto his face and he unconsciously hugged her close to his body, his gold-capped teeth shining in the lamp light.

"Well, love, I think you're making a good start."

It was quiet for a moment and Jack could see her eyes drooping, the exhaustion finally showing in the sagging of her shoulders and the limpness of her body.

"Don't die, Jack," she said suddenly, her voice sounding as if she was fighting back a yawn. "I don't want you to die."

"It takes more than squid-face to bring down ol' Jack," he muttered, hoping very much that that was true. "Why, would you miss me?" he asked teasingly. And like always, she surprised him. Her eyes closed as she snuggled unconsciously into his chest.

"Freedom wouldn't be the same with out you, Jack," she said softly. He was too stunned to move or speak. She slowly detached herself from him, laying down on his soft bed and curling against her pillow. She pulled the covers over herself and let her eyes slip closed again. It didn't seem to bother her that she was sleeping in his bed, and she found easy comfort within it.

Jack seemed to snap back into himself, standing up and leaning over her with curious eyes.

"You are so strange," he said softly, brushing a hand over her cheek. A grin spread across her face and she snuggled beneath the sheets.

"Thanks."


	14. Chapter 14

**Okie Dokie! Let's get this show on the road! thanks again to the wonderful fantastical reviews! (LittleMissDreamer7—PLEASE GET BETTER SOON. and it means so much that you're reviewing while sick like this. Thank you so much.) (Ang- anytime, darling, you're reviews make me happy).**

**I love you all!**

**Sorry this is late, scriptwriting for my creative writing class took FOREVER.**

**-Han**

Listless walking and black stares dominated Anna's life for the next day, staring absently at the horizon as if she were waiting for the Dutchman to rise from the waves and give him back. The thought of Will played in her mind until she felt she would scream at the sky that she wanted him back.

Wanted him back because she realized how much it killed her to know they hadn't resolved anything. Her heart felt trapped by its own beats and her mind was in a constant frenzy of possibilities. What if he died? What if she never saw him again? What if his last thought of her was that she had lied to him and they would never be the same?

Jack had given her space, space she needed, to stare out at the lapping waves and attempt to come to terms with all that was happening. This was not like the last adventure. This one was so much more real. She could actually die. Will could. Jack…Jack might actually be gone, for forever. His wings ripped viciously from his back and his fiery eyes fading into crushing blackness. The thought made her scared, more frightened than she'd ever thought she'd be.

The crew steered clear of her, allowing her space. At some point, she found herself leaning on a strong piece of rigging, netlike on the side, the heels of her boots supporting her on the thick rope. Her fingers wove in and out of the netting, unconsciously twirling it back and forth as her eyes stayed glued to the horizon, as if it brought the answers.

Jack was watching her from the helm, his eyes memorizing the curve of her back and the way her hair swayed in the salty wind. After her declaration the night before, he'd been giving her time to think, about everything. Truthfully, he needed the time to think about her.

The very thought that she would actually stay with him both excited him and made him afraid. What if she was hurt? What if she died? Somehow, he thought it would mean more to him than if any other person should die around him. There was something so pure and childish about her that made him want to protect. Made him want to be there for her on a level outside of rum and bedrooms and shillings for the pleasures.

The idea that she could be ripped from his ringed fingers did things to his chest he wasn't even aware could happen. He didn't like the thought. The thought of her cold and lifeless and empty. The smile gone from her face and the sparkle in her eyes dull and listless. It had been bad enough to watch her these past two days.

It had nearly killed him when he realized how much thinner she'd gotten, how her bones jutted from her skin without her effort and how unnaturally straight her back was when she stood.

He sighed, his shoulders rolling from unseen tension as he reached absently for his rum. The only thing that could take away this pain he was not used to. This fear he did not like. The amber liquid burned pleasantly down his throat and he wondered what would happen in Tortuga.

He was not stupid, he knew the odds of finding ninety-nine souls on that barren rock ready to be taken to the sea and the devil himself. He knew they would not find enough.

But if anything, Jack was a pirate, and he would find a way out. He wasn't sure how yet, but he would see that himself and Anna live through this. Maybe even Will and Gibbs if he could swing it right.

And Anna would want Cotton to live. He'd have to try and save Cotton. He'd slip up on the parrot let it be taken by Jones, it creeped him out. He wondered if the parrot's soul could be equal to his.

A small grin came to his lips as the thought crossed his mind, his eyes still on the horizon. The grin grew when he saw that the sky had turned purple and that the North Star was out. Her star.

Ever since that night on the beach, that godforsaken island, it had become her star. And over the year he would think about it and remember her and wonder if she was thinking of him. And then his eyes would drop back to the rolling waves and he would think she wouldn't be. Would have no reason to be. That she was okay, safe, strong, vibrant. All the things she usually was. And he would think, that she wouldn't need the likes of him.

Now he wished he had saved her. He wished he had sailed to England and taken her away. More so, he wished he had convinced her to jump off the battlement with him in Port Royal.

And he wished he could forget the kiss. Lingering in his mind at all times, he would wonder what she thought of it. How she felt when his mouth crushed to hers and her eyes had slid closed. He wondered what she thought later that night, when she must've thought about it.

How should he feel about it? It had been a quick decision, one he'd been battling with himself over for the majority of their grand adventure. One he took a chance on. And it had been everything he'd thought it would be and more and he had to push the monster in his chest that wanted it again, back. He had to lock the being away, the one hungry for her lips and her skin and her fingers sliding across his neck.

He shook himself, downing another swig of his lifeblood, adjusting their course slightly. Shouts and laughter and the clanging of swords could be heard as the approached Tortuga, and he watched Anna's posture straighten, anticipation lining in her body. She jumped from the netting and waltzed up to him, a grin plastered on her face and Jack didn't even think it was forced.

She was like him in that way, the city could make her feel alive.

"So Captain," she started, her eyes a sparkling sky blue that Jack thought reflected her mood.

"We won't have time for bar fights, this time round, love," Jack cut across her quickly, a consoling smile on his face. She mock glared, her arms crossed, one hand sneakily fingering the hilt of her sword.

"Maybe one?" she pleaded, the excitement raw in her eyes.

Jack sighed playfully, offering her a taste of rum. She shrugged her shoulders and gripped it, taking a dainty like swig and still coughing slightly around it. He chuckled at her, taking it back. "How can you expect to fight in Tortuga when you can't hold your liquor?" he asked with a grin.

"Shut it," she said wryly, "I'm just out of practice, is all."

"Sure, love, sure."

The port neared, the shouting growing louder until it was a buzz of life in both of their minds and it was urging them to run, fight, drink, jump. Move, any kind of move was a good one and they wanted to do them all.

The two gazed out at the city before them, drinking in the flavor of the island, grins permanent on their faces. Anna turned to him suddenly, her eyes firm.

She snatched his rum and took a quick swig, managing to swallow without a coughing fit. "To living," she said with determination, passing the rum to him.

"To Tortuga," he toasted, following her lead and downing the rest of the rum.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey! Sorry it's been a few days, I had a lot going on. ^_^ if I get at least….five reviews, I'll upload again today. I love you guys!**

**-Han**

Anna leaned back against the wall, looking around the bar with a half-smile, remembering her first visit to the chaotic tavern. She'd pulled her hair back away from her face and had seated herself between Jack and Gibbs. There was a small brawl just outside the doors, and she could hear the shouting from in here, and she itched to join it. But when they had found themselves a seat, Jack had given her that look, one that said clearly stated what she would and would not be doing for the next hour.

Apparently, fighting in the street wasn't on the 'would be' list.

She shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest and watched the patrons joke and tell stories and drink like that had nothing left to care about. Like it was all about the living. She breathed deeply, her lungs breathing in alcohol, sweat, smoke, and energy. She could feel her body relaxing with it, and becoming wired all at the same time, until she felt her body would burst if she did not find an outlet.

Some sort of music, if you could call it that, was coming from a corner where a man sloppily played the violin. She thought he was trying to go for a Celtic theme, but the occasional screeching from the instrument made her realize why players should not be intoxicated. She winced at the sound and contemplating leaving her seat just to take the instrument he was torturing away from him.

She shifted back in her leaning chair, her upper back against the wall to retain her balance and focused her eyes on something else.

A short line of sailors stood in front of Gibbs' desk while the rest of the bar continued it chaos. Anna frowned momentarily at the prostitutes laying themselves over random sailors and looked back to Jack. As if sensing her gaze, he looked up from his compass with a questioning look. A look of mischief had crept into her eyes and she thought of her last visit to the city.

"Giselle and Scarlett wanted me to give you a message," Anna said with a sudden grin. His head tilted in curiosity that quickly melted to horror as she leaned over and slapped him lightly across the cheek. His head jerked to the side, but there wasn't even a red mark on his face when he faced her again.

"Why did'ya do that?" he asked, rubbing a hand over his cheek. She giggled to herself and smiled at him.

"It brightened my day," she said with a shrug.  
>He grunted and violently shook his compass, muttering under his breath. Anna chuckled and looked back to Gibbs, seeing a rather desperately sad man before him.<p>

"…sail the seas. Forever," he said softly. She felt her heart ache for him, as he signed the roster with an elated smile. He had no idea what he was signing up for. Anna looked away from him quickly, the guilt pooling in her stomach.  
>"I know what I want, I know what I want," Jack muttered to himself as he shifted back and forth with his eyes closed. Anna smiled sadly at him and looked back to the bar with pensive eyes. "How are we going?" Jack asked, looking up after glaring at his compass.<p>

"Including those four?" Gibbs asked. "Four!" he snarled. Anna frowned and sighed loudly, trying to quell the rising fear for Jack. She had to hope that he would be okay, or she would crumble. She's spent the past year living on hope alone; she couldn't afford to lose it now. "And what's your story?" he asked the next applicant.

"My story. It's exactly the same as your story, just one chapter behind. I chased a man across the seven seas. The pursuit cost me my crew, my commission, and my life," a slow drawling deep voice said. Anna looked up in shock and scooted backwards in surprise, her chair tipping precariously as she did. He looked nothing like the man she'd once fallen for. He was dirty and unkempt; his clothes hung off of him oddly, ripped and smeared with mud.

James Norrington stood unsteadily in front of Gibbs, swaying slightly and sneering cruelly. He tipped back a container of rum and gurgled around the warm liquid. Anna felt herself wanting to gag at the sight. Her breathing was coming faster and shallower and she was looking for an escape route without even realizing it.

"Commodore?" Gibbs asked in shock, leaning forward again, his eyes intent on the man before him.

"No, not any more! Weren't you listening?" Norrington demanded, swaying violently. His voice grew quiet and his eyes looked far away. "I nearly had you all off Tripoli." Annabelle cringed, his voice sounded so hollow and empty. "I would have, if not for that hurricane."

She gasped, leaning back further, her eyes darting around her and landed Jack attempt to hide behind a plant. She watched him sneak away for a moment, her mind reeling. He'd gone headfirst into a hurricane? This was not the man she remembered. This was not the man she had come to care about so much. This was not the man that saved her from an endless ocean alongside a little boy.

She didn't even recognize him.

Anna jumped back as she realized she had been lost in her own mind. She was pulled sharply back into reality as a shot sounded and James was bowled over. She stood quickly, reaching for her sword and ready to defend the man she'd known for so long. A ringed hand jerked her back and she glared openly at Jack as he hauled her towards the stairs.

"You have to let me help him!" she shouted, struggling against his firm grip.

"This was his choice, love. Don't fight his battles for him," he said wisely. He paused, snatching the hat off of a passing fighter. "Thanks, mate."

He tried it on and looked expectantly at a still raging Anna. She stopped her fuming to tilt her head to the side slightly. "No, not that one," she said, her blue-grey eyes narrowed on the hat. Jack nodded his agreement and grinned to himself as he took it off. He grabbed her hand again and pulled her forward.

He stopped again, waving to a group of drunks about to lob a sailor over the balcony. He put the hat firmly on the sailors head and shooed them. "Carry on," he said with a wave of his hands. Anna rushed to keep up with him as he walked faster.

"Jack we can't just leave him!" she called, rushing to his side as James shouted loudly above the crowd.

"He'll be fine, love! I promise!" he said, pulling her outside. She cast a worried look over her shoulder and looked back to Jack. He thought that her eyes were beginning to feel deep again, where he could see layer upon layer of feelings held nearly bare to the world. Where the pain was hidden, but every other emotion was easily seen. He could see the worry, and the sorrow now. But, he thought if he looked hard enough, he could see the excitement and the vibrancy that Tortuga had always brought himself. The life that flowed through the place seemed to be infecting her with a brightness she had been lacking.

He thought she looked a bit more like herself again.


	16. Chapter 16

**Alright, I promised, and I'm making good on it! This one is a lot longer than normal, so you should love me and review! ^_^ I love you all!**

**-Han**

The dock felt natural beneath Jack's feet as he carted the woman behind him. His grip was gentle, but firm on her forearm, as if he was afraid to harm her. His steps were assured and steady, for once, because of the gentle swaying of the dock.

Anna was watching him from beneath her lashes, marveling at how at home he looked, with the sea as his backdrop. She had all but forgotten the haunting reappearance of James, too entranced by the man she called 'best friend'.

She had missed him more than she thought she should, when she was away. And now he was there and they were no longer at odds. They were mending slowly, as she became the child she knew she was at heart. They were becoming whole as she relearned how to slur her words into contractions and acclimated with the weight of a sword. Soon they would be infallible, she knew that.

"Captain Sparrow?" a voice sounded from behind them. Anna half-turned to see the newcomer and smiled in welcome.

"Come to join me crew, lad? Welcome aboard!" Jack shouted jovially. He kept walking, not bothering to turn around.

"I've come to find the man I love!" the sailor shouted back. Anna and Jack paused as one, turning back to look at the young man before them. Anna felt her cheeks heat as she glanced between the man and Jack, embarrassment flooding through her. She hated moments like these.

"I'm deeply flattered son, but my first and…only love is the, erm, is the sea," Jack stuttered out. Anna glanced at him, wondering why his words made an empty chasm appear in her chest. His dark eyes flickered to hers and he studied her for a moment. She looked beyond his reach and it made him want to take back what he said. But he couldn't.

"Meaning William Turner, Captain Sparrow," the man said in an annoyed voice. Anna looked up, a dubious look on her face.

"Elizabeth?" she asked softly as Jack turned to Gibbs and said something about hiding the rum. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and nodded. Anna looked down suddenly, the guilt in her stomach overpowering. Will was gone. And she had had the nerve to worry about herself.

She wondered for a moment, how she ought to act around her. She still didn't particularly like Elizabeth, but her last year had taught her to be polite and cold all at the same time. With the loss of Will on top of that, she was unsure of the best way to approach her. Anna chanced a look at Jack and decided that avoidance would probably be best.

"You know, these clothes do not flatter you at all. It should be a dress or nothing. I happen to have no dress in my cabin..." Jack trailed off suggestively. Anna turned sharply and glared at him, for no other reason than that she felt like it. "What I meant of course was…I could…find you a dress?" he finished in a question, stepping back from the ice in Anna's eyes.

She smiled slightly in amusement and looked up at his with large eyes. He smiled in return, watching the emotions flicker across her face and deciding that she had to smile more. Had to smile often.

"Jack. I know Will came to find you, where is he?" Elizabeth interrupted his contemplation with her question. He looked up to her sharply and swore in his head. He hated these situations. He sent a sharp look to Anna, who only nodded numbly in acceptance, her face falling back into the mask guilt she had been wearing since they'd left the Dutchman in their wake.

"Darling, I'm truly unhappy to have to tell you this, but through an unfortunate and entirely unforeseeable series of circumstances that have nothing whatsoever to do with me, poor Will has been press ganged into Davy Jones' crew," Jack said quickly, stepping back to gauge her reaction.

Anna gave a sloppy half smile at his antics and waltzed lazily to the edge of the dock. Her eyes found the dark water and she wondered if Jack would mind if she went for a swim. The water was still warm this time of year, and it looked so smooth and inviting. Like a silky blanket, one she could succumb to.

She stopped herself, her hands tightening on the railing. She couldn't think like that, she was out of the estate. She didn't have to fantasize about being embraced by cool water until her lungs stopped burning. She was free, with Jack. There was no need to revisit her time there. There was no need to fall back into the endless trap of sadness.

Somewhere in her mind, she registered that Jack had begun his game. He was playing Elizabeth to his side, manipulating her to get what he wanted. Anna didn't bother to stop him; he was a pirate after all. She sighed softly, her stormy eyes on the black water. This wasn't like the last adventure.

Last time she'd never felt as if she were in any real danger. Now Will was gone, taken by a darkness so black she did not want to even comprehend it, and Jack. Jack could die. Couldn't actually die.

The concept seemed so foreign that she didn't want to understand it. It frightened her more than her father did. She shivered suddenly, the memories rushing back to her in full force. The lessons she had received.

_"Annabelle! What did I tell you? Do not slur your words! You are no better than those filthy whores on the street!" Her father shouted, his face turning a steady red color._

_ "I'm sorry father," she whispered, recoiling at the firm rap of her knuckles with a walking stick until she stuttered and corrected her mistake. "I am sorry, father."_

_ "You better be. Do not think for a moment that you have escaped your punishment. You know the rules. Learn your lessons or…" he trailed off, beginning to walk back out of her room._

_ "Please," she begged, looking up at him with broken, stormy eyes. "Just, let me get some food first. Water. Please?"_

_ "Why? You do not deserve it you filthy little prostitute," he said with a sneer. He walked through the door and turned back to her. She struggled against the chair she'd been tied to with scarves to correct the straightness of her back.. "And do not forget to work on your posture," he said with a grin as he shut the door._

_ She heard the familiar click and hung her head, her back aching from being straight for so long. She tugged ineffectually for a few moments, trying to at least reach her necklace. But the silky scarves were tied to tightly. _

_ Tears dripped from her eyes as she resigned herself to another day or two without food or water, the patterned walls mocking her and her struggles. Jack buzzed in and around her thoughts, dancing in for a moment and gone the next as she tried to come to terms with the fact that he wasn't going to save her. She was alone._

"Mr. Gibbs!" Jack called loudly, pulling her roughly from her memories. Her head snapped up and turned to find Jack smiling widely.

"Captain!" he called in reply.

"We have our heading!" Jack said with roughish glee. Anna smiled despite herself and pushed herself away from the railing.

"Finally!" Gibbs said in joy, giving a thank you motion to the sky. "Cast off those lines! Weigh anchor and prow that canvas!"

Feeling compelled to do something, Anna started rushing towards the gangplank, the feel of the sea in her bones. Now was not the time for tragedy and hardship. Now was the time for action.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jack called to her, pulling her to his side easily. He could see the hollow emptiness working its way back into her eyes and was determined to stop it.

"To help," she said simply, a renewed energy in her body filled her as she pushed the darkness away. "Would you deny me that?" she asked almost coyly.

"Never, love," he said with a grin before offering his arm to her. Elizabeth huffed something unintelligible and followed them onto the ship. Anna broke from Jack's arm and immediately found herself next to Norrington, hauling on the rigging. The wind whipped at her hair as she attempted to ignore the man next to her.

"Annabelle?" he asked after a moment of simply staring at her. She shifted away slightly, able to smell him from where she was standing. The uniform he still wore was a mockery of his former stature, and his words sounded heavy with liquor and depression.

"James," she responded tersely.

"What on Earth are you doing here?" he asked almost accusingly.

"Saving my friends," she replied evenly, while tugging on the ropes.

"You don't actually believe his nonsense, do you?" James asked in shock.

"James, you should know by now that Jack is mad," she said with a sigh. A soft smile filled her features and James had to resist the urge to ask her why. "But you know, all the best people are."

"You are no better than a child," he slurred, stumbling past her to throw up over the side.

"Thank you," she said sincerely. She moved past him, helping anyone she could and eventually found herself in the crows nest. She was smiling again, watching her star hover above the horizon. The night was cold this high up, and she hugged herself tightly. Her hair swayed around her and she thought about putting it up, to let her blue-grey eyes see better, but she couldn't really be bothered.

"Y'know, generally when one is up here, they are doing their job," Jacks voice said from next to her. She turned to see him grinning at her from the rigging.

"I am," she said defensively. "I just got a bit lost in thought."

"And what are you thinkin' of?"

"Just…tomorrow, the next day, the day after that," she said softly. "It's odd…not knowing. Not having it all planned out." She paused a moment, taking a deep breath. "There's no assurance, but I think that's a good thing. I know I'm not going to spend my days wandering empty hallways and curling against the wall in my room. There are no locked doors or guards. I'm free."

"Freedom is something not many people can understand, love. But it's the greatest thing there is," Jack said wisely. She looked up at him with a smile.

"Do you know what got me through the past year?" she asked quietly. Jack shook his head and she smiled. She pulled out the Sparrow charm from beneath her shirt and showed it in the moonlight. "It's this necklace that my best friend gave me. It's beautiful, right?" she asked. "I would hold it, or feel it around my neck, and I would know that he was out there, living; flying. I would know that he was being all that he could. I knew that he was free."

"He still is," he reminded her gently.

"Please don't die, Jack. I don't think I could bear it," she said, turning her eyes away from him.

"I won't."

"Promise?" she asked, her voice sounding thick and watery all at once.

"I promise," Jack said solemnly. "Now let's get you to sleep. We need someone up here to actually do the job," he joked, helping her climb down.

"Okay birdie," she said amiably as her boots touched the deck, and walking into the small cabin she'd been given. She stopped suddenly, looking back into kohl lined eyes. "How is Elizabeth taking everything?" she asked in what she hoped was a concerned tone.

"You don't have to pretend you enjoy her company," Jack said with a smirk. Anna deflated a look of desperation on her face.

"Will loves her. I love Will. So I have to at least like her," she said in exasperation. "She just makes it very difficult."

"She's nothin' like you," Jack pointed out.

"I should hope no one is, otherwise I wouldn't be very much like myself, I would be like that other person," she said sleepily.

"And it would be a terrible shame for you to be unlike you and like another," Jack finished for her.

She tipped her head back and laughed, her shoulders shaking as she did. She put a hand out and steadied herself on his shoulder. When she finally calmed down enough to look at him through watery eyes, the grin would not leave her face.

"Thanks, birdie, I needed that."

"No problem at all, love. None at all," he said lightly, smirking to himself as he shut the door behind her.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey! I love you guys very, very much! And if you review, and I get a decent amount, I will upload tomorrow instead of Thursday. ^_^ it's up to you. Much love!**

**-Han**

The sun beat down on the black deck and Anna thought that it was lucky it was windy. Her long hair was out and free, swirling around her as she stood next to Jack in shame. Elizabeth was in front of her, holding letters.

"Beckett?" Gibbs asked from beside her, his voice colored in shock. Anna flinched from the name and looked out to the steadily rising sun. It would be noon soon. They were running out of time.

"Yes, they're signed. Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company," Elizabeth said quietly. Anna stepped back, waiting for the opportune moment to slip away. Jack grabbed her shoulder and held her in place firmly.

"You knew this?" Jack asked quietly. Anna scrunched her eyes shut and nodded numbly.

"He wants something, something to give him power. That's what Will came for, the compass to help him find it. I came because…" she trailed off, opening her eyes slowly.

"Because..?" Jack prompted.

"Because I missed you," she mumbled almost unintelligibly.

"I knew it," Jack said proudly.

"Will was working for Beckett and never said a word. Beckett wants the compass...only one reason for that," Gibbs said quickly, getting back to business.

"Of course. He wants the chest," Jack said logically as Anna nodded her agreement.

"Yes. He did say something about the chest," Elizabeth added rather superfluously.

"If the Company controls the chest, they control the sea," Gibbs said grimly.

"A truly discomforting notion, love," Jack said to Anna. She nodded numbly.

"And bad, bad for every mother's son what calls himself pirate. I think there's a bit more speed to be coaxed from these sails! Brace the foreyard!" Gibbs called, rushing around the deck. Anna hesitated, but decided to stay next to Jack, the wind whipping at her face and making her stormy eyes squint slightly.

"Might I inquire how you came by these?" Jack asked in his usual saucy way. Anna tilted her head in confusion as she felt her heart ache at his flirty tone.

"Persuasion," Elizabeth replied with an equally coy look. Her eyes hooded, and she stepped forward the barest inch. Anna retained a gasp at her blatant courting and wondered briefly what her father would think. She shut herself down; reminding herself that propriety was not the issue.

Will would be crushed.

She sighed, her eyes drawn back to the horizon as Jack played her to see how far she would go. Poor Will, she thought distractingly. He must be in hell right now. And his beloved stood here with the prize of his torture and he remains possessed by the leviathan of the sea.

She scrubbed at her eyes a moment, remembering when they used to be inseparable. Love was something that came naturally between them, and she'd always thought they should have been born siblings. But one lie, and one adventure, and they were twisted beyond repair.

She lowered her gaze to her hands, which gripped the railing of the ship reflexively. She wouldn't lose him. She would mend them; she would make them whole again. By whatever means necessary.

"…As if I could be bought for such a low price," Jack was saying in disgust. She smiled, catching up quickly as she took in the letters in his hand.

"He honestly believes you will come to him," she said with a shake of her head. "I told him he was mad. Not even the good kind," she said blandly, scanning over the documents.

"Shame really," Jack said sympathetically, shaking his head in mock-sadness.

"Jack, the letters...give them back," Elizabeth said suddenly. Anna smirked, and stood closer to Jack.

"Why don't you…persuade him?" she asked with a grin. Jack smirked slightly and leaned forward expectantly.

"You do know that Will taught me how to handle a sword?" Elizabeth asked, stepping closer and narrowing her eyes in an attempt to look threatening.

"As she said…persuade me," he said huskily.

The grin from Anna's face dropped as her game turned sexual. There was a burning light in Jack's eyes that could only speak of lust and charms that an average woman could never hope to see. Elizabeth had replaced her confident look with one of unreadable confliction. There was a flicker of something that Anna thought was lust, but it was gone a moment later.

Elizabeth turned her back and walked away, leaving a confused looking Jack. His large brown eyes were creased with thought and Anna thought that whatever he was battling over must be important. She turned away from him, unable to handle seeing the conflicted lust in his eyes.

She didn't know why that hurt so much to see, but it was clawing at her chest like a sickness. Anna shut her eyes against the salty wind and tried to calm her raging heart. It was shouting at her that it was wrong and that he should never be near Elizabeth. That it wasn't right or natural. That it should never happen.

She told herself that it was all for the sake of Will and the pain it would cause him. She told herself it was all for the poor blacksmith whose valiant and naïve heart would be crushed and broken by his soon-to-be wife's infidelity. She knew she wouldn't be able to look Will in the eyes after that, knowing she had watched it happen.

And that was part of the reason. The other part was locked away so deep inside of herself that she would never have to see it. Never have to feel it.

Xx

"My tremendous intuitive sense of the female creature informs me that you are troubled," Jack said casually as he plopped down next to Anna on the stairs. She fingered her rum bottle gingerly and wondered why he hadn't gone to talk to Elizabeth on the opposite set.

She looked up and smiled at the Captain as he took the bottle and brought it to his lips.

"Nothing, I don't think," Anna said nonchalantly.

"No use lyin' to ol' Jack, love," he said with a smirk.

"It's nothing, really Jack," she said, slightly stronger. The raise of his eyebrow made her slump in defeat. "I just…I don't like being lost," she whispered.

"And how could you be lost? We actually know where we're goin' now," he said amiably.

"Not that…I just feel like I'm stumbling along after all these people….just waiting for the center piece I'm supposed to play. I feel like I'm on the sidelines, waiting for the moment I'm supposed to do something. But it just…hasn't come yet."

Jack didn't say anything for a moment, only stared at her, the bottle centimeters from his mouth. "Is that…really what you think?" he asked, shock coloring his husky voice.

Anna nodded mutely, her ratty curls swaying around her face and her eyes on the stairs beneath her.

"You're mad," Jack said harshly. Anna's head snapped up and she stared at him with wide and scared eyes. "None of this could have happened….we couldn't have….you're impossible," he said finally. "Do you have any idea how much you mean to the crew? To dear William? To-" he cut himself off and just looked at her.

"Jack?" she asked softly, her lips still parted slightly.

"You, you're diffrent. You've helped more than you know. You're more important than you know," he said slowly, as if trying out how the words would taste on his tongue. "Don't ever-don't ever think so little of yourself."

"It's hard not to, birdie. It's what I've been taught for so long," she said quietly.

"Remind me to kill yer father when all this's over," he grumbled sadistically. She smiled and leaned against his shoulder, taking in the scent of rum and the sea that seemed to come off him in waves. She was surprised to say that it wasn't an unpleasant smell.

"Just, stay with me birdie. Please," she said softly. He wasn't sure what she meant. He wasn't sure if she meant his impending death, his walking back to the helm, or perhaps even his earlier moment with Elizabeth. But he stayed beside her, just incase, letting her lean her head on his shoulder and casually brushing his fingers across her hand, taking a swig of rum every minute or so.

"We'll arrive soon," he said softly, looking out over the clear sky and calm sea.

"I know, and then it's just another battle to face," she said light-heartedly, the prospect of danger and adventure able to bring a bright smile to her face.

"One day, love, I'll show you the whole ocean, the whole world," he said quietly. "And maybe you'll tire of adventure."

"Have you?" she asked with a grin.

"Never," he replied, his back straightening slightly.

"Then I shall never either," she said, sitting up and looking proud of herself.

"Are you quiet sure? It's a hard life; danger at every turn. You might die, you know," he said in a way that made Anna wonder if he was serious or only joking with her.

"Where do I sign up?" she asked.

"No where, you already belong here," he said with a sincere sort of smile that she'd never seen before. She responded, a bright grin filling her features and light suddenly shooting back into her eyes until he thought they looked a exactly like the sea after a storm. The vibrant buzzing energy had returned to her and he thought that the child was back. The one he cared about so much.

"I like that," she said softly, her body practically bouncing with excitement. "Belonging somewhere, that is," she corrected herself with a smile.

"You're too strange for anywhere else, anyway," Jack said teasingly. She laughed, tipping her head back and snatching the rum back while he wasn't looking at her hands. She tipped it back and coughed slightly as the warm amber liquid scorched down her throat. Jack chuckled at her and shook his head as she struggled to retain her composure.

"I've been out of practice," she said again, defensively.

"Clearly," Jack responded with a grin. Anna smiled and leaned over, hugging him loosely around the waist. He returned it and smiled when she took his hand gently and fiddled with the many rings. She smiled to herself as she brushed her fingers against his, making them lay flat against each other. She turned his hand over and gasped, dropping it quickly.

Jack's face fell into a mask of terror and fear as the black spot reappeared on his hand and spread out slowly. His lip twitched and for a moment, Anna thought he might scream. He stood up quickly, dragging Anna with him and looked around himself with terrified eyes.

"I'll go get the jar of dirt," Anna said quickly.


	18. Chapter 18

**This is longest chapter I've ever done of this story, and it took a long time. So, reviews would be so very very very appreciated, for all my hard work. Personally, I love the last bit, but I want to know what you guys like! Um, I don't want to give a number for reviews or whatever, but I would really like a good amount. They make me happy and being happy makes me write faster. I love you!**

** -Han**

"You're pullin' too fast!" Pintel was shouting at a scared looking Ragetti. They were rowing towards Isla Cruces, Anna squashed between a nervous Jack and a smelly Norrington. Jack was gripping his jar of dirt as if it held the answers to life's questions, and he could be safe with it. She could see his many rings clearly and the whites of his knuckles as he held to it like she imagined a small child would hold to a blanket, or the folds of his mothers dress.

Norrington was staring longingly at Elizabeth, who had taken to sitting in complete silence, stealing glances at Jack every few moments. Anna had elected to simply star into the blue water and wonder how the hell it became that color. Was there something that dictated it would be that vibrantly blue? Why was it so different in the Caribbean?

Her brow furrowed as she concentrated on the question, knowing she was only attempting to distract herself from the fear, the inevitable pain. As the argument between Ragetti and Pintel mounted, she sensed Jack's increasing nervousness.

"It's a mythological creature, I can calls it what I wants," Ragetti said finally, effectively ending the argument. Anna smiled at him softly, finding his strange intellect refreshing. She leaned towards Jack, noticing how his body tightened and his gaze flickered frantically around himself at the slight shift of movement.

"Jack? Why is the water so blue?" she asked, her head tilting to the side slightly. Jack gave her an almost relieved look, understanding her intentions. He looked back to the water for a moment, question in his eyes.

"I don't know, probably because it's so shallow here, and the sands white," he said logically.

"There's no…more interesting explanation?" she asked in surprise. Jack shook his head with a light smile that dropped abruptly as he caught sight of Elizabeth staring at him. It seemed to remind him of what they were doing, as her hand held his compass tightly. Anna thought Jack looked odd without it on his person. "Hey Jack, what does your compass do again?" she asked softly, looking at it as well.

"Were you not paying attention the first time?" he asked sarcastically. At the slow shake of her head, he looked at her curiously.

"I was thinking about the past," she said softly, her eyes flickering as the memories threatened to break through again.

"What about it, love," he asked, looking concerned. They were nearing the shore, the white sand not too far away. She gave him a sad, hollow sort of smile.

"The past year wasn't the best, birdie," she said softly.

"Is this why you've gotten so much thinner?" he asked quietly, eyeing her bony shoulders and sharp hipbones. Anna blinked, shocked that he'd even noticed. She could only nod dumbly under his piercing stare as she found herself wanting to tell him everything, all at once. She wanted it to pour out of her very being and let Jack understand it. Let him understand the pain and the loss and the fear.

"Father…father wanted me to learn his lessons," she said softly, looking only at Jack. The others had turned to look at her, their expressions ranging. Pintel and Ragetti seemed to have a humane sort of empathy, one that said they experienced something similar under Barbossa. Elizabeth looked simply shocked, her eyebrows raised and her mouth open slightly. Norrington was staring at her with broken, drunken eyes, ones that knew he had lost a friendship worth keeping. "If I did not learn the first time, I was locked away."

"Locked?" Jack repeated, his mouth dry and his hands shaky.

"In my room. Just for a few days," she said quickly, her hands fluttering as if they could stop his worry.

"With no…food or water?" he said angrily, catching on quickly. She slid back, in time to watch the boat hit the white sand. She jumped up, her sword swinging at her hip and leapt out into the ankle-deep water. It sloshed almost pleasantly against her boots and she had the intense urge to swim. As if knowing she was thinking it, Jack swiftly grabbed her arm, gently guiding her up the beach. As he walked away, he shouted back over his shoulder to Pintel and Ragetti with a much stronger voice now that he was land bound. "Guard the boat, mind the tide, and don't touch my dirt."

Anna rushed ahead, swaying in the white sand and looking up at the clear blue sky. Jack shook his head at her, knowing she was only doing it to avoid him, and watched her spin around once in the wind. She giggled, looking longingly at the water, before turning and rushing to follow Elizabeth. The woman herself was walking in circles, growing quickly frustrated as the compass pointed yet again at something she didn't want it to point at.

"This doesn't work!" Elizabeth said irritably. "And it certainly doesn't point to what you want most!" She sat down heavily in the sand. After thinking a moment, Anna sat down as well, further away from her and near the sand dunes.

Jack walked toward Elizabeth and looked over her shoulder. "Yes it does," he said calmly. "You're sitting on it."

Anna giggled to herself as Elizabeth gave him a clueless look. "Beg pardon?"

"Move," he ordered, shooing her away. He motioned for Norrington to begin digging where Elizabeth just was and then ambled over to Anna. She was sitting with her legs out in front of her, opened with enough room to build a sand castle. She was smiling to herself as she built, her fingers squishing in the sand.

"What on Earth are you doin'?" Jack asked quietly, watching her build the castle walls.

"Making a sand castle," she said with a bright grin. Jack shook his head in amusement and watched her build further.

"That looks nothin' like a castle," he said teasingly.

"Don't be mean to my castle. I'm never mean to yours," she said, the grin never leaving her face.

"I don't have a castle," he said with a frown.

"So the Pearl isn't yours?" she asked with a sly grin.

"Of course she is," he said with understanding, now. He grinned and leaned closer to her, to twist piece of her hair between his fingers. "You know, she could be yours too," he said softly.

"What?" she asked quickly, looking up at him with wonder in her eyes.

"When this is over…" he trailed off a moment, looking at her intently. "Will you stay with me?"

"Of course," she said automatically. "It's all I've ever wanted, Jack," she said with a grin. "All I have to do is renounce my title and throw this ring back into that bastards face." She glared at the, now, sand-covered ring.

"Do you mean it?" he asked, vulnerability creeping into his features.

"Yes," she said plainly, her eyes sparkling and a smile gracing her features.

"Well then, the Pearl will be your home, as it is mine," he said with a grin. She sent him a warm smile, and went back to her castle.

The next few moments were spent with her concentrating on her sand walls and sloppy architecture, molding spires and towers lopsidedly and rebuilding thin walls that continued to collapse, much to Jack's amusement. The moment the crack of sound emitted from the hole James was digging, Anna jumped, her legs somehow shifting violently to knock down her castle.

"Damnit," she swore lowly, looking sullenly at her destroyed monument before wiping her hands and standing along with Jack to haul out the huge chest.

The black wood was menacing and almost sad to her as she watched it land heavily on the sand. Immediately, they crowded around the chest. Anna held her breath as Jack whacked off the lock, leaning forward instinctively as the latch was opened and the insides were laid before them.

Dried roses, almost black in color were the first thing she saw. They reminded her of broken and barren hearts, a shadow of a former beauty. She reached absently for one, cradling it softly to her chest for a moment. Love letters were the second thing, and she picked up the closest one and closed her eyes, as if she could read the sorrow through the simple touch. As if she could understand the feeling and the love and the pain.

Jack watched her handle the letters as if they were some precious metal only she could understand. She wasn't even reading them, seeming to regard the privacy as something special and unique to the two. As if they deserved to have their love and their communication untouched forever, the script to be read by the other, or none at all. He noticed Elizabeth scanning the inside of one with no shame.

He shook himself, focusing on the task at hand, and carefully pushing the remaining items away. He deftly lifted the second chest, one even smaller than the first. It lay on the sand, the rest of them gathered around it, while Anna stared at her rose, twirling it between her fingers lightly, avoiding the thorns.

She watched as the three leaned in to hear it thump, and shook her head. She knew it would be there. She trusted Jack. And it was. She could hear it beating from where she sat, rose and letter in hand.

"It's real," Elizabeth breathed and Anna had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. This was the same woman who fought undead pirates just last year. Was a beating heart really that much of a stretch?

"You actually were telling the truth," Norrington drawled disbelievingly. Anna nodded to herself, understanding at least, of him. He was so naturally clean-cut and straight-backed; it was only obvious he would doubt Jack's word.

"I do that quite a lot. You people are always surprised," Jack said dryly. Anna snorted and moved forward, poking him gently in the ribs. He smiled at her, as if to say 'except you'.

"With good reason!" a deep voice shouted from behind them. Anna whipped around, a smile splitting her face as she stood up as fast as she could, her boots slipping in the sand. Before she was sure what was happening, Elizabeth had screamed his name and launched herself at Will.

Anna stopped in her tracks, her hair swished around her face, her back unnaturally straight. The smile faded slowly, sadly, her eyes growing darker and hollower. Jack stood as well, ignoring Will for the moment and touching a gentle hand to her cheek.

She gave him a weak smile, one laced with regret and pain. She remembered a time when she could hug him freely, without the feelings being forced and without the sadness between them. Jack looked deep into her eyes, searching for something he couldn't seem to find.

Finally, when the couple behind them had stopped throwing themselves at each other, Jack smiled coyly at Anna. When he was sure the attention was back on him, he wiggled his eyebrows and dropped a careful kiss to Anna's cheek, cutting his eyes back to see Will. He snickered softly when he saw the blacksmith's eyes darken and his fists ball up.

When he pulled away her cheeks were red, and he was grinning. She mock-glared at him, realizing what his point was, and hoping to send some sort of thank you to him. She knew Will cared about her still, even after everything. The feeling made her smile again, bright, sweet, gentle. She still loved her brother, and to know that he still cared about her made all the difference.

Jack's lips had felt smoother than she thought. Silky. Not chapped by the wind or the salt, but soft. The thought ran through her head before she could stop it and it made her feel as if she had an itch in her mind that could not be scratched.

"How did you get here?" Jack asked, pulling her from her thoughts with a curious glance at the still slightly fuming man before him. Will Turner's eyes were bright, and his clothes wet. His chest heaved as if he had been swimming for miles.

"Sea turtles mate," Will said heavily, taking long breaths between the words. "A pair of them strapped to my feet." Anna smiled, glad the boy still had some form of humor in his body, and remembered that first adventure. That story Gibbs had told them that had made Anna care about Jack as more than a fascinating person.

"Not so easy, is it?" Jack asked with a slightly pompous tilt of his head. Anna grinned and nudged him, raising her eyebrows mockingly. He pushed her back slightly, sticking his tongue out at her and crossing his arms.

"But I do owe you thanks, Jack," Will said, impatiently drawing their attention back to him.

"You do?" Jack asked in glee, seeing a way out of the potentially volatile situation. He didn't want to be on the same island as Elizabeth when she found out who got Will on the Dutchman.

"After you tricked me onto that ship to square your debt with Jones," Will trailed off, watching Jack turn slightly guilty.

"What?" Elizabeth asked sharply, her head snapping to Jack.

"What?" Jack repeated, even more surprised than her. Anna fought the urge to snicker, and instead focused on what he said.

"Will, it wasn't like he lied to you," Anna said calmly. Will looked at her almost accusingly and frowned. "We both knew he was destined to die. Did you really think he would go all the way to his fate, without some sort of a plan?" she asked. Will's face softened a fraction and he nodded slowly, before turning back to both of them with his face stern.

"…I was reunited with my father," he finished. Anna gasped, stepping back slightly. She'd heard every story about his father he could possibly tell. She remembered listening to him rant on long nights when she was still only fourteen. She remembered holding him as he cried and grieved for the man he barely knew.

"Oh. You're welcome, then," Jack said with a grin. Anna shook herself, walking closer with a smile threatening to break across her face.

"Did you really, Will?" she asked softly, her eyes sparkling. "That's fantastic! Oh Will, I'm so happy for you!" she said, finally succumbing to the smile and laughing freely. Will sent her a smile, one that still reflected the hollow edges of his attitude towards her, but she thought he appreciated her words.

"Everything you said to me, every word was a lie!" Elizabeth screamed suddenly, preparing to launch herself at Jack, who quickly ducked behind Anna, using her body as a barrier. Anna wondered why the woman was so angry. Why it was necessary to scream like she was.

"Pretty much," Jack said in a chipper voice, chancing a look around Anna. "Time and tide love," he added, waving his hand. Anna smiled at him over her shoulder.

"I like that phrase," she said softly, wondering what it meant and not really caring at the same time. He returned the smile, but stopped abruptly as he watched Will stoop over the smaller chest, the rusted key in hand.

For a split second, Jack wondered where Jones had been keeping it hidden.

"What are you doing," Jack asked, getting back to the present and turning completely to face Will.

"I'm going to kill Jones," Will said simply. Anna flinched, the idea seeming to wrong. It couldn't be that easy. It couldn't be that unconditional.

Jack moved swiftly, pulling his sword from the hilt and pointing it at Will. "Can't let you do that, William. 'Cause if Jones is dead, who's to call his terrible beastie off the hunt, eh?" Jack said quickly. "Now, if you please, the key."

Jack knew better than anyone that the Kraken would lose lust for the hunt if Jones were to die. He knew better than anyone, the lore of the Dutchman. He knew of the sacrifices and the punishments. He knew of the Dutchman, and of its needs. And what it must have.

And he would not let Will be torn down by it.

Will turned and yanked Elizabeth's sword from her side and pointed it at Jack, standing swiftly somewhere in-between the move. I keep the promises I make, Jack. I intend to free my father, and I hope you're here to see it. "I keep the promises I make, Jack. I intend to free my father, and I hope you're here to see it," he said seriously.

Anna sighed, deciding she knew where this was going, and prepared to either take the chest or just walk along the beach for a few minutes. She paused as she heard James speak behind her.

"I can't let you do that either. So sorry."

Her head tilted in confusion, her eyes on the scruffy shadow of the man she once knew. He couldn't be defending Jack. She didn't believe it. It was obvious James' blamed the man for the loss of his career, there was no way he was on his side.

"I knew you'd warm up to me eventually," Jack said with a grin. Norrington promptly turned his sword on Jack, a sinister smile lighting up his scruffy face. His cold grey eyes were flat and harsh, almost looking alive at the very idea of a fight. At a chance to reclaim his life.

"Lord Beckett desires the contents of that chest. I deliver it, I get my life back," James said with malice. Anna shuddered, the cold calculating tone to his voice made him sound almost inhuman. "And of course, Annabelle will come back with me," he added, almost as an afterthought.

"I beg your pardon?" She said quickly, turning to face him, the shock reflecting in her blue eyes.

James sighed, as if exasperated. "You're the _Princess. _I cannot regain my title when its obvious I _left _you to go gallivanting about after pirates, _again," _he said slowly, as if she were a small child. She flinched from his words and breathed deeply.

Jack was looking at her carefully, gauging what her reaction would be and preparing himself to interfere. He watched her eyes seem to grow faraway and knew she was thinking of her father. He was surprised when it seemed she shot back to the present, a fire in her eyes he didn't think he'd ever seen. This one was angry and hurt and frustrated.

"James," she said quietly. Will was watching her carefully, and was stepping backwards slightly. He had seen her angry before. Elizabeth was already ten paces away, having taken the brunt of it on the last island they'd been on together. "What I do, is none of your concern."

James thought that was all she was going to say. But she took a deep breath and started shouting out her pent up fury on the man before her.

"And if I choose to go _gallivanting_, then I will do it! No one, anywhere, has any right to tell me how to live my life! I will _not_ go back with you, I will _not _marry Beckett, I will _not_ learn my lessons, and _**I will not be a Princess!**_"


	19. Chapter 19

**This has action, I SWEAR! please please please review. ^.^ seriously, it means a freakish amount.**

**-Han**

"Love," Jack whispered in the shocked aftermath of her tirade. She seemed to pull back, her eyes misting over into their normal stormy blue of bubbly happiness. Jack thought she was too much like the sea, able to change in a moment. "Why don't you go by the water while we fight like pirates?" he asked, a grin filling his face.

"I want to hurt someone," she said softly, her eyes never leaving his. He grinned, his gold teeth showing brightly.

"And you will," he assured. "But if you've been practicing as long as dear William, you know not to fight when you're angry. It produces such horrible form."

She sighed, looking over the water slowly, ignoring the other three. Elizabeth and Will had moved closer again, mystified by Jack's words and the power they had on her. James was still reeling from her shouting, the words she'd thrown were harsher than he thought they would be.

She looked back to Jack, her eyes sad and soft, trapping herself behind walls of memories better left forgotten. "I'll be on the beach. By all means, continue your fight," she said softly, smiling at the pirate before her. He returned it, allowing her to pass by him on the way to the beach.

Jack looked back to James, seeing him still in a state of drunken shock, his sword still in hand. He grinned, gold-capped teeth showing in the sun and resumed his original stance, preparing to launch himself into inevitable battle with the lithe ability of a cat.

"Ah, the dark side of ambition," he said with a smirk, snapping his enemy out of his daze. He thought he saw the grey eyes darken with sadness for a moment, but it was gone before he could be sure.

"I prefer to see it as the promise of redemption," Norrington returned darkly, swinging his sword in an oncoming arch at Jack's head. Jack parried, turning swiftly, his dreadlocks and beads twirling around his face. Will followed quickly, his sword a simple extension of himself.

The three were locked in a battle fierce and reluctant all at once, each man holding back from a killing blow and each fighting for all he was worth. Their swords played on one another and sand was flying in all directions. Elizabeth was screaming and Anna was walking aimlessly in the sand, still twirling her dried rose between her fingers.

Her hair was blown back from the wind and she walked lazily towards the water, ignoring the sounds behind her. She was sure that it would all end the right way. They'd take the fight to the Pearl and Jack would eventually talk the others into agreeing with him, because he was good at that. If worst came to worst, he might leave Norrington there and drop Will off in Tortuga.

She wondered if Jack would just let her drop Elizabeth off in harbor and watch her swim. Would that be considered improper?

A wry sort of smile rose to her face at the thought and she walked further, picturing the battle in her head, timing strikes with the sounds she could hear from her position. She could imagine Jack ducking away from Will's oncoming blade, turning in time to block James. She could see it like a dance, like a sonnet she had memorized years before and could recall in only a moment. She could see it play before her in a swirl of sea-stained cotton and dirty uniforms. She could see it in flashes of silver in the sun and the snarl of frustration from missing.

She smiled welcomingly when she came across Ragetti and Pintel and spun on the heel of her boot to watch the fight. Elizabeth was obstructing her view, practically jumping up and down with frustration, her blonde hair tangling in the wind as she shouted at the three men locked in battle.

"This is barbaric! This is no way for grown men to settle...oh, fine! Let's just pull out our swords and start banging away at each other! That'll solve everything! I've had it with wobbly-legged, rum-soaked PIRATES!" she screamed, bending down to pick up a rock and chucking it at them with as much force as she could muster.

"Well, how did this get all screwy?" Pintel asked slowly, watching the three battle fiercely. Anna smiled wryly, her eyes never leaving the scene.

Well, each wants the chest for hisself, don't he? Mr. Norrington, I think, is trying to regain a bit of honor. Ol' Jack, he's looking to trade it to save his own skin. And Turner there, I think he's trying to resolve some unfinished business 'twixt him and his twice-cursed pirate father." Ragetti said logically.  
>Anna turned to him and smiled, her eyes widening as he spoke. She moved slightly closer to the dirty pair, surprised at herself for never having spoken to them before. "You are far more intelligent than the rest of us take you for, aren't you?" she asked quietly, watching him duck in embarrassment.<p>

"Thanks much, miss," he said softly, a dirty hand coming up to rub at his wooden eye. She inclined her head while watching Elizabeth shout at the three.

"It's a very good thing, you know," she said brightly. "It means you have something no one knows you have."

"Never thought o' it that way," Ragetti replied while Pintel smiled happily. Anna shrugged, watching the scene play out and making a face at Elizabeth who continued to throw rocks at the group of men.

"Sad though, when ye think o' tha' chest," Pintel put in, looking straight ahead.

"Tsk, tsk," Ragetti put in. "Terrible temptation."

"If we was any kind of decent," Pintel said quietly, "we'd remove temptation from their path."

Anna wasn't paying attention. She was watching Elizabeth start to scream curiously, only nodding vacantly as they ran off.

"Enough! Oh! Oh! The heat!" Elizabeth shouted, fanning herself furiously and falling over on the sand. Anna rolled her eyes, turning around lazily and gasping when she saw Ragetti and Pintel making off with the chest. She cursed herself for letting them get by her and ran after them, her boots slipping in the white sand.

She mumbled profanities to herself as she trudged deeper into the jungle, her sword swinging at her hip. Her eyes cut to a path ahead of her, taking it quickly to intercept the two with the chest. She wondered for a moment why she even bothered. She had no need for it. Nothing inside of it would give her anything.

But the memory of Jack's frightened eyes before they got out of the longboat made her run faster.

She grinned to herself when she found herself in front of them, her sword now in hand and pointed at them threateningly. A moment later Elizabeth appeared, scrambling at her side with no sword in her scabbard. Anna snorted to herself, keeping her grip firm on the hilt of her own sword.

"Hello Poppets," Pintel said in a mock sweet voice, the gravely tones sending shivers of disgust through Anna's body. She smiled, excitement for the upcoming battle racing through her body. She still wanted to hurt someone. She still wanted to feel the clash of her sword against another's.

Her body froze, the sound of cracking trees filling her senses until she was compelled to turn around. Her head tilted to the side curiously as a giant wooden wheel rolled by, Will and Norrington fighting furiously inside of it, rushing over wooden beams to remain upright as it rolled through the jungle. A moment later, Jack followed it, running in his odd way that made a giggle bubble from her lips.

Her arms waved in front of his body and she wondered if that actually made him go faster, and his legs slipped and slid on the vegetation. He let out some sort of frustrated scream and kept running.

She had the urge to yell something at him. Just for fun. But she was cut off.

A rusted, dripping, blunt axe sunk into a tree only a few feet from her head. She turned abruptly, her sword swinging with her in an elegant arch. She shivered in disgust as she realized that Jones' crew was behind them, weapons ready.

She sighed in something like ecstasy as she ran at the nearest one, hacking away at barnacle infested body parts. She ducked and wove easily between her opponents, smiling to herself every time one approached her. Every cut she made, made seawater pour from the wound. Like they were made of the ocean itself. Her face contorted in disgust but she didn't let up. At some point she realized that Elizabeth was calling for a sword. She threw it to her, taking the time to duck beneath an oncoming opponent and snatch the knife at their side. She grinned to herself, slashing and cutting anything within reach.

A moment later she realized Ragetti and Pintel had dropped the chest and run away. Elizabeth following soon after, clutching onto Anna's sword as if her life depended on it. She sighed, rolling her eyes and kicking the last man back in the chest, taking his sword from him and following the crab-thing that had taken the chest. The other crewmembers having followed Elizabeth to the beach.

Anna rolled her wrist, acclimating to the weight of the strangers sword, whipping it through the air around her experimentally as she walked. She smiled when she saw her opponent making off with the chest. Her chest rose and fell in anticipation.

She swore, ducking to the side as something hit the monsters head, knocking it clean off its shoulders and causing it to roll away. It immediately began instructing its body on how to get back to him.

"Oh shut it," Jack said harshly, emerging from the trees and bending down before the chest. Anna smiled, rushing to his side. "Oh!" Jack said suddenly, looking to his left to see Anna kneeling beside him. "When did you get here?"

"Just before you took my fight away from me," she said jokingly, watching him handle the chest carefully.

"So sorry, love," he said softly, leaning forward and unlocking the chest. Anna couldn't repress a gasp as the heart was revealed to her. The beats thundered in her ears and her body wanted to reach towards it.

"You're not going to stab it, are you?" Anna asked carefully, fear creeping into her voice.

"No. But why shouldn't I?" Jack asked curiously, wondering why she didn't want him to.

"It can't be that easy, Jack. It just can't," she said softly, her eyebrows furrowing.

"I always knew you were a smart one," Jack said to himself. He stood up, tucking the heart into his vest, and looking around him self apprehensively. "Jar of dirt," he muttered to himself. He leaned down and helped Anna rise, and took off towards the beach. He still held onto the chest.

"Jack, why do you run like that?" Anna asked suddenly as they tore through vegetation and dirt, the beach in sight.

He gave her an exasperated look, and shrugged, still running in his odd way. "Because I can," he said finally, as they reached the white sand of the beach. She raised an eyebrow, but accepted the answer. She huffed to herself as her boots stuck in the sand and rushed to keep up with Jack.


	20. Chapter 20

**My bad! Thanks to Little Miss Dreamer7 for pointing out that little, erm, crossover for a bit there. I get distracted. My bad!**

**_Han**

At the longboat, Jack scrambled for his jar of dirt, cutting his eyes around himself every few moments in fear. He dumped out half the sand, muttering to himself as he did. He grinned back at Anna, taking the heart from his vest and stuffing it into the jar. She jumped into the longboat, helping him stuff the sand back in without a word. She could feel the urgency in him, and it bled across to her until she was feverishly stuffing sand back into the glass jar, her eyes dancing around her in search of other people. Jack put the lid on and Anna jumped over him to attack one of the crew. Its puffer-fish spikes rose out of his cheeks as he breathed and she made a disgusted face.

Jack turned, moving with her against the monster, with a paddle from the long boat, until it collapsed in the water, as dead as any of them could be. Anna shook her head in disbelief as the same giant wheel rolled almost lethargically into the shallow water and toppled over. A dizzy Will and James stumbled out of it.

Anna laughed slightly at their unkempt states before throwing herself back into the battle.

"I'm startin' to think you enjoy this too much!" Jack shouted over his shoulder as she moved in the shallow water, taking on two of the crew at once as Ragetti and Pintel fought alongside her. She grinned, spinning and slashing until she was back to back with Jack, jabbing easily at her enemies.

"Maybe," she admitted, around another breathless laugh.

She turned slightly and caught sight of his warm brown eyes, a laugh sparkling beneath them. She smiled back, stopping suddenly as she saw Will leaning over the chest, the key still sticking out of the lock. She frowned and nudged Jack.

He turned and saw what she did. With a slight shrug of his shoulders, Jack swung his paddle at the back of Will's head, dropping him effectively into the boat.

Elizabeth ran to help her beloved, but Jack stopped her quickly, his voice cutting through the clanging of swords and peeling of flesh.

"Leave him lie! Unless you plan on using him to hit something with."

"We're not getting out of this," Elizabeth huffed between slashes of her sword. Anna shrugged, again moving with Jack to cut down an enemy. She really didn't care if they got out. As far as she was concerned, this was the most fun she'd had in a year.

"Not without the chest," Norrington said suddenly, stooping to grab it and standing straight again. Anna blinked her world slowing as she thought it out. Jack still had the heart in his jar. Norrington would die for nothing.

"No! James, don't do it! Please!" she shouted, sloshing through shin-deep water to grab the front of his dirty uniform. "You'll die," she whispered softly, searching his cool grey eyes for some form of rational thought.

"Don't wait for me," he whispered, giving her a sad lingering look before he grabbed the chest and ran. The crewmen followed, sloshing and screaming in the water, weapons raised. Anna took a step, as if to follow him, and was surprised when she felt Jack's hand pulling her back.

"I say we respect his final wish," he whispered, pulling her gently back to the boat. Her head lowered, focusing on the bright blue water until her breathing was under control.

"Aye," she said strongly, stepping into the boat, avoiding Will's body and huddling into herself. Jack settled in beside her, poking her gently in the ribs and giving her a grin.

"Look at the positive side, love," he encouraged. "We'll actually live through this."

"I suppose that is a good thing, isn't it?" she said, almost to herself. She stayed quiet until they reached the Pearl, her eyes growing brighter as they approached the vessel she could call home. Her heart still ached for the man she once knew, but he had been lost long ago. He'd been lost the moment Jack disappeared over the horizon. And there was always the chance he could survive, if she knew anything, it was that Norrington was more cunning than others believed. His hatred of pirates made him quick to judge, yes, but he was able to dissect a situation with the mind of a military man. Anna knew if he was set on surviving, he would do so.

When the long boat bumped against the Pearl, Anna jumped up and crawled on deck, ignoring Pintel and Ragetti behind her.

"What happened to the chest?" Will asked as he was roused, his head in his hands. Anna sighed, looking back over the water as Elizabeth helped him on deck.

"Norrington took it to draw them off," she said softly, helping her fiancée to stand. Anna nodded behind her, looking over to meet Jack as he rose.

"What happened to the Commodore?" Gibbs asked as Jack found his place on his ship.

"Fell behind," he said calmly, casting a side-long glance at Anna, who was looking out over the water again. He thought she would get lost there one day, and fall back to reality and not know where she was.

"May prayers be with him," Gibbs said solemnly. "Well, best not wallow in our grief!" He shouted, his tone gleeful and chipper. "The bright side is you're back and we've made it free and clear!"

The Flying Dutchman burst from the water like Anna thought a dolphin might, spraying sea water far beyond its planks, seaweed hanging from it's crevices. The ship felt more haunted than the Pearl had the year before, it's figurehead a strange creature with wooden jaws she thought would snap shut on a ship in its way.

Anna could see the Captain watching them, eyes deep and vicious, and she felt she would be sucked under and fade away in crushing black depths. She had no doubt he could make it so.

"Lord on High, deliver us!" Gibbs shouted to the sky. Anna wondered if she should be praying for her immortal soul. The man on the other ship made her want to.


	21. Chapter 21

**Here we are! All my love goes to LittleMissDreamer7 who needs to get her butt better right now!**

** -Han**

"I'll handle this, mate," Jack said with a grin, his fingers tapping the side of his jar. He walked around the deck, facing the Captain with out fear. Anna was reminded of their first adventure, when Jack seemed as though he could stare into death and win every time. "Hey, fish face! Lose something? You congealy-" Whatever word he'd been trying to say was cut off as he fell down the stairs.

Anna winced as he landed, her hands unconsciously fluttering as if it would help him. She sighed in relief when he stood again, wobbly, but with jar of dirt still intact.

"Got it!" he said brightly, rising again. "Come to negotiate, eh?" he asked the grin refusing to fade from his lips. "You slimy git!"

Anna paused, looking up to the dreaded Captain and flinched. If murder was an expression, he would be wearing it.

"Look what I got," Jack taunted, holding his jar of dirt up as high as he could. "I got a jar of dirt, I got a jar of dirt, and guess what's inside it?" He sang. Anna slapped a hand to her forehead and prayed for mercy. She chanced a glance between her fingers and gasped at the icy fury in Jones' eyes.

"Enough!" he shouted across the ships, his voice scathing and musical around them. Anna still thought his accent was charming.

"Hard to starboard?" Jack asked softly, hardly above a whisper, the jar still raised high. Anna turned, facing the crew, her eyes frenzied and alive.

"Hard to starboard!" she screamed at them, watching them come alive in movement, pulling on black rigging and steering quickly away from impending death.

"Brace the foreyard!" Will took up the call, running through the deck like he was the Captain. In that moment, Anna would have believed he was. She followed him to the helm, looking anxiously behind them as the Dutchman followed their move and began tailing them.

"She's on us, she's on us," Pintel muttered, rushing around, grabbing onto rigging and hauling when he could. Anna watched Jack take the wheel from Gibbs and spin it clockwise, his body seeming to relax at the helm. She turned back to the Dutchman and watched triple guns emerge, ready to fire.

"Make fast!" she screamed at the crew, waving her hands in a motion she would later realize to be 'Jack-like'. Her eyes scanned the rushing crew and wondered if she should help. One look at Jack made her positive her place was here, just next to him, screaming the orders that she was sure were running through his own head.

"Don't let me down, show us what you've got," Pintel whispered, stroking the railing, and Anna couldn't help but repeat the mantra in her head. The Pearl had survived more than any ship should have to, but they needed her to carry on for this one battle.

"She's fallin' behind!" Anna shouted, surprise and victory coloring her voice. She turned an elated smile to the others, looking back at the slowly shrinking Dutchman.

"Aye, we've got her!" Gibbs added, looking at the Pearl with pride.

"We're the faster?" Will asked, his hands gripping the rail and his eyes on the enemy.

"Against the wind, the Dutchman beats us, that's how she takes her prey," Gibbs said, the demented smile still on his face. "But with the wind…"

"We rob her advantage," Anna said softly, the grin beginning to spread wider across her face.

"They're giving up!" Marty shouted in happiness, pointing to a now completely stilled Dutchman, the fear seeming behind them. The enemy gone.

Anna had to resist the urge to jump up and down; the blood rushing through her veins was an elated ecstasy. She saw Pintel and Ragetti square-dance and skipped to join them, crossing arms with them and skipping in a circle with a free kind of giggle.

When she stopped it was to hear Will shouting at Jack as if he were the cause for the world's troubles. "My father is on that ship. If we can outrun her, we can take her. We should stand and fight!" he said strongly.

"Those two things have nothing to do with the other," Anna pointed out logically, coming to stand next to Jack.

"Why fight when you can negotiate?" Jack asked, picking up his jar of dirt and tapping his fingers gently on the sides. "All one needs is the proper leverage."

A thunderous crash rocked the ship as something undeniably large slammed into the bow, sending Jack's dirt sailing over the helm and onto the deck below, shattering to pieces. Anna raced with Jack to the spilled dirt, her heart hammering in her ears as her fingers sifted through the sand. But the organ wasn't there.

"Where is it? Where is the thump-thump?" Jack asked, his eyes wide and frenzied. Anna swore, her fists clenching.

"Norrington," she spat, standing quickly. "He must have taken it to save himself. And now…" she looked over the water, feeling the unrest in her soul and the fear in her heart. Whatever they had hit, it wasn't good.

"Must've hit a reef," one sailor said, leaning over the rail precariously.

"No!" Will shouted, rushing towards the rail to pull Elizabeth back in. "It's not a reef! Get away from the rail!"

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked, but Anna had already guessed the answer. Dread pooled in her stomach as she jumped ahead in reasoning.

"The Kraken!" Will shouted above her hazy thoughts and she felt her heart burts into a frenzy. "To arms!"

Anna shook herself, running and sliding to grasp any weapon she could reach, two swords at her side and a musket in her hands. She could hear Gibbs shouting but it all sounded far away and she wondered for a moment, why she couldn't see Jack. The thought was drowned out quickly as she met Will's eye.

"It'll attack starboard, I've seen it before," he shouted at the crew. Anna wondered if all giant sea monsters had specific attack methods, or if it was just this one. "Run out the guns and wait for my signal!"

She positioned herself next to Will, her gun raised and her hair falling into her eyes. She felt her stomach lurch as tentacles began to rise from the water, tantalizingly slow. They waved, as if in subtle wind, or hello, and wrapped leisurely around the dark wood of the Pearl.

"Easy boys," Will cautioned, his eyes trained on the long tentacles, almost begging to see the mouth, and know their strikes would be true.

Anna wondered if she should be offended from the boy comment. She heard Elizabeth caution Will, but her gun was still at the ready. She waited, her body poised to see the gaping jaws that would surely spell her death.

"Hold…hold…,"Will said calmly, his arm still raised high, preparing to call the signal. "Steady."

"Will, I do believe we've held as long as we can," Anna said calmly, her finger itching on the trigger.

"Will!" Elizabeth shouted, her eyes bugging out of her head.

"Fire!" Will called, and Anna shot until her gun was empty, each bullet finding a mark somewhere in the sea-green flesh of the thing. The tentacles let go, wounded with singed flesh and burning suction cups.


	22. Chapter 22

**Hi! Please review and enjoy! Love you guys!**

**-Han **

She heard the crew cheering in the back of her mind, but she could still imagine the limbs reaching up to take them under. It couldn't be over that easily.

"It'll be back, we have to get off this ship," Will cautioned, rushing around the deck. Anna stopped and turned, the wreckage of the longboats making a chasm appear in her chest. Hopelessness was not something she enjoyed.

"There's no boats," Elizabeth voiced her concerns. The ship quieted, no one moved. Anna doubted that anyone even breathed.

Will stepped up, his chest rising and falling as if with a great weight. His eyes were searching the area, resting on the horizon too far from reach. "Pull the grates!" he shouted, moving frantically around the deck to find any kind of ammo they had. "Get all the gunpowder onto the net in the cargo hold!"

He grabbed a musket and approached Anna, his eyes questioning as he passed it to her carefully. "Do you still remember how to shoot?" he asked, a slight grin on his face.

"Do the tides still change?" she asked, taking the gun in her hands.

"Whatever you do, don't miss," he said seriously, his brown eyes showing his worry. He wasn't sure this plan would work, and Anna could see it.

"We'll be fine, Will. We always are," she whispered, gripping the gun until her knuckles were white.

"Tell me that after we survive," he said darkly, moving away from her to find Elizabeth. Anna sighed, her eyes finding their way to the horizon, where she sent a prayer to any god listening.

"Some help would be wonderful," she prayed, her eyes closing softly for a moment, where everything was suspended, and safe.

Barrels went rolling into the net, passed down by person to person and Anna could tell they wouldn't have enough.

"We're short of gunpowder. Six barrels," a crewman shouted. He looked like one of the ones they picked up in Tortuga. Poor bastard, Anna thought. She was sure he hadn't signed up for this.

"There's only a half dozen kegs of powder," Gibbs carried along to a frustrated Will.

"Then load the rum," Anna spoke up, the gun still held tightly in her hand. Will nodded his agreement while the crew stared at them awkwardly. They seemed to have forgotten impending death for a moment as the reality of no rum truly set in. Anna wondered again where Jack could be, since his rough voice didn't speak up against the order.

"Aye, the rum too," Gibbs said forlornly turning back to yell profanities of the crew.

Anna turned to climb the stairs, reaching the helm and checking her position. She had a clean shot from here. She pushed the hair away from her face and paused when her gaze flicked to the water. Jack was rowing away, quickly.

She sighed, her heart torn between betrayal and hope for the man. At least he would get away. At least he would survive.

"Pirate," she whispered, shaking her head sharply. She shook herself, telling herself that it didn't matter that she was left behind. It didn't matter that he was leaving without her. It didn't matter.

That's what she told herself, anyway.

She caught herself on the rail as the Kraken rammed the ship again, her shoulders caving to support herself and her hair falling in her eyes. Her heart was beating much faster than she thought it should, and her fingers felt numb and slippery.

She sank to the ground, her back on the railing, gripping the gun like it was salvation, her eyes closed and whispering frantically at herself. "Focus. Focus. He left, so what? Will needs you. Little William needs you again."

Her eyes opened, a fire burning in them until they looked almost grey. She stood, rushing and leaning over the rail.

"Heave you mangy bilge-rats!" she shouted at the crew as they began to haul the netting high, with Will hanging from the side. "Heave like you're being paid for it!"

Gibbs repeated her words in a sailors slur, watching as the tentacles reappeared above the waves. They moved faster now, probing through the cracks in the Pearl and wrapping around the abdomens of crewmembers. Anna flinched at the screams, and grabbed at one of the swords at her side, preparing to swing at anything that might come her way.

She watched Will's sword fall and clatter to the deck, shining in the midday light. She watched his foot twist in the ropes and him hang upside down from the net. He was stuck.

"Shoot! Annie, Shoot!" he shouted, his fingers reaching for a small knife and beginning to saw through the rope, while shouting for the monster to take him. Anna sheathed her sword, and raised the gun, ready to shoot as soon as he was clear.

She could see her shot lined perfectly, the swinging net falling into view. The monster beginning to wrap around it, getting closer. The net was still intact, with Will still swinging from it. From the corner of her eye, she watched another sailor be yanked off the ship and taken down to the depths below.

She breathed deeply, time seeming to slow around her, and prepared to take the shot.


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey! Review! It's almost the end, and I think…I think what I'll do is update everyday I get a chance, and if I get twenty reviews within….four days….over the span of a few chapters, I'll do an epilogue. Whatdoyouthink?**

**-Han**

Anna wasn't sure when she went from gripping the gun to sliding down the stairs, but she was. Her ankle was caught by a slimy tentacle, one that made her heart leap into her throat and thoughts of those gaping jaws come to mind. She wondered why she didn't scream, and realized she was too shocked to, too numb. But she did grip the rail of the stairs, bruises beginning to from her body hitting each step.

Her skin felt like it was on fire, being slapped against wooden stairs and pulled strangely by the monster. Relief flooded through her as she felt the tentacle slacken. She looked up in shock to see Ragetti standing over the chopped piece of it, an axe in his hand. She sent him a breathless smile; one that she hoped conveyed her thanks and started back up the stairs.

The gun, she needed the gun. Her boots slipped on bloody wood and her chin cracked against the edge. She tasted blood in her mouth and spit it halfheartedly over the side. She was getting tired, her muscles screaming and her scars pulling, seeming to hold her back. She groaned to herself, crawling up the stairs now, her eyes frantic and her fingers numbly tumbling for the musket.

A boot came down on it, and she let out an unintelligible cry, pushing it away. She turned her eyes up to glare at the new man, and stopped short. Jack's suave face stared back at her, an eyebrow quirked, as if her gaping were unneeded. Even if he had left.

"You came back," she said, taking her hands slowly from his leg and the gun, struggling to stand on her own. Jack nodded calmly, as if this happened every day. He stooped, grabbing the gun and straightening again. "Jack you have to get off this ship," she whispered frantically, her eyes darting back and forth as her fellow pirates were slung from the ship with fury by the monster. Will still swung from the raised bomb. She wasn't sure why she'd said that. She wanted him here, wanted him to help. But he would die, wouldn't he? She couldn't take that.

Her heart beat faster, painfully fast, as the tentacles began to curl around the net. She looked back to Jack, as he took stance with the gun, aiming, waiting.

"Couldn't leave," he muttered, waiting still for the right moment.

"Why not?" she demanded, holding her breath as Will frantically cut away at his binds, upside down from the net, screaming at her to shoot.

"Compass pointed back," he muttered, watching as Will fell to the deck and then pulling the trigger. Anna thought that if she could have watched it slower, somehow, it would have been beautiful when the bullet hit the ammo and their bomb exploded around the monster, each barrel catching as it fell.

She thought she could hear the beast shrieking, but that could have been her as she ducked away from fiery debris. Her eyes scrunched shut and her mind was racing away from the flames and the pain. Somewhere within her mind, she felt Jack wrap an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, accepted the escape, and tried to come to terms with the fact that she might actually die.

The thought seemed distant and far away and she decided she didn't want to see the end. Not now. Not after she'd found him again, and was living the life she was meant to live. When she finally pulled away it was to rush like a crazed woman to Will. She knew they both flinched from the pain, but she didn't let go. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as he hugged her back.

"Thank you so much for not dying," she whispered softly. He chuckled wryly, hugging her tightly and releasing her slowly. She stared at him, as if trying to find meaning in his eyes. "Don't ever let us fall apart again," she said slowly. He nodded, understanding her meaning.

"I won't. Annie…you're my sister," he said softly. He cast an eye around the deck and grimaced. "Besides, the opportunity may never even present itself again."

"Are you trying to be funny Mister Turner?" she asked sarcastically, a small giggle rising in her throat. Any other time she would wonder why she was on the verge of laughing when a world of wreckage was around them and they would surely die. But she knew. She'd gotten her brother back and she felt lighter knowing it.

"Did we kill it?" Mary asked, looking fearfully around at the flaming wreckage. Anna shook her head, picking her way to stand by the railing.

"No," Gibbs said. "We just made it angry. We're not out of this yet. Captain! Orders?" he asked Jack, looking as if he'd never even realized he was gone.

Jack walked sadly and brokenly towards the rail, dropping the gun halfheartedly. "Abandon ship," he said in a monotone devoid of life. "Into the longboat."

If there was ever a moment in Anna's life were time stopped, it was here. She could see the hollow line of his body and knew he couldn't be talked out of this. She could see the way his eyes ghosted over every plank of wood and knew that he was dying inside. A piece of him was missing.

"Jack!" Gibbs said in shock, his face slack and dumbfounded. "The Pearl," he said softer, as if the words dripping from his lips were holy.

"She's only a ship, mate," Jack said softly, the lie clear in his voice.

"He's right, we have to head for land," Elizabeth said before Anna could say anything. Anna sighed and looked out at the open water. As if reading her thoughts Pintel spoke up.

"Tha's a lot o' open water," he said quietly.

"Lot o' open water," Ragetti agreed, staring at the crystal blue

"We have to try," Anna said softly as Will nodded.

"We can get away as it takes down the Pearl," he agreed, still carrying authority in the line of his back and the straightness of his shoulders. Anna thought he would make a good Captain, though never of the Pearl.

It was quiet a long moment and Gibbs seemed to deflate and admit some sort of defeat as he looked up. "Aye, abandon ship." He paused, the words seeming to pain him as they left his mouth. "Abandon ship or abandon hope."

Anna wondered if Jack would be abandoning both.


	24. Chapter 24

**Fifteen more reviews until an epilogue, just so you know. If you haven't yet, I suggest you do. To Ang: I'm sorry it isn't what you wanted, but I'm sticking by my original vision, no matter how suckish it may seem now. Sorry! Love you!**

**-Han**

She helped the remaining crew load the remaining supplies into the boat, her fingers numb and probably splintered. She sighed, stepping out of the line and looking around her at the wreckage. This was going to be her home, the dark wood was burning in several places and the deck was slick with blood and slime. The sails were mostly intact, the dark black fluttering weakly in the wind as if to say 'I'm still here,' but there was nothing for it. They would have to leave this beautiful girl behind and it was tearing Anna apart inside to know that it must be killing Jack.

She turned, her eyes searching and finding the man she needed to talk to. She wondered if there was a reason why she was addicted to him, why she felt incomplete without him by her side. She wondered if it was normal to feel like that.

"Jack?" she asked softly. He turned from gazing at the mast forlornly to look at her, a deep rooted sadness in his eyes. "Jack I'm so sorry," she whispered, laying a soft hand on his arm. He looked at her a moment, as if trying to really see her through the haze of chaotic thoughts.

He moved almost unconsciously, pulling her closer until his head was rested on hers and his arms were wrapped around her. "It's alright, love. It's just a ship," he repeated.

"_She _is more than just a ship," she said quietly against his chest. She could feel his sad chuckle vibrate through her and allowed herself a small smile. "Jack, she's your life."

"There are more important things," he said softly, his arms tightening around her and she wondered if she was one of those things.

"I'll always be here, birdie," she said with determination. "I'll always be here for you."

"And I you, love. And I you," he said, his voice sounding almost thick. She pulled herself from his arms and smiled at him, one she hoped was filled with something inspiring.

"It'll be okay," she said firmly, the smile never leaving her face. He nodded doubtfully, and inhaled sharply as she leaned in and kissed his cheek. He could feel her soft lips pressing to his skin and his eyes slipped closed for the briefest of moments.

When she pulled back again, he looked at her levelly. "Do you promise?" he asked quietly. A look of doubt crossed her face, but she eradicated it quickly.

"I don't know if I can promise that…but I can, I can promise you that I will always fight for you. To the ends of the Earth," she said with resolve, her hands clutching his tightly. "I will always find a way to save you, Jack."

He sighed, relief flooding through his body at her words and looking out over his ship again. "You go on…I need to say goodbye," he said heavily. She nodded her understanding and started for the longboat, her heart aching for the Captain behind her. "And love?" he called after her. She turned, her long hair swirling around her and her eyes still sparkling. "I would do the same for you," he said softly.

She smiled, the brightness of it taking Jack back a bit and making his heart warm all at the same time. Yes, some things were more important than a ship.

Anna turned again, leaving him to peace. She gave Elizabeth a curious look as she passed, the blonde having a look of determination and anger. Anna shrugged to herself; sure it was just another angry set of words that Elizabeth would deal out. Nothing permanent. Nothing bad.

Her eyes caught the ocean as she began descending the ladder. It was still out there, that terrible monstrous creature of the sea. Something no God should have ever created, waiting for them, waiting for Jack. Her heart took off at the very thought of it, too terrible to comprehend.

She settled into the longboat, her fingers trembling and her stomach in knots at the idea of the creature below the waves. She settled next to Will's legs as he finished with something, leaning so just his head poked above the deck. She thought she felt him stiffen at the sight of something on deck, but was too scared to bring herself to look.

Her eyes scanned the surface of the water quickly, expecting the slimy green tentacles to be rising above the surface, ready to take her and those she cared about to a grave even she was afraid to go to.

She heard the distinctive rattling of the ladder and smiled, feeling the warmth and safety blooming in her chest as she realized Jack must be getting in. But something felt wrong; she knew Jack's stare, and this was not it. It was too cold, too frigid. She needed Jack, the one who could make everything better. She needed the man like she'd never needed another and she was sure he wasn't behind her.

"Birdie?" she asked, turning around to face him and seeing only Elizabeth beside her. Her eyes flickered up, looking for him, anywhere. Seeing Elizabeth's drawn and determined face sent her heart into overdrive, beating frantically and wildly as her mind raced ahead.

"Where's Jack?" Will asked, his voice almost demeaning in nature as he stared at his fiancée. Anna waited, feeling her heartbeat in her ears and her muscles coiling, ready to jump back onto the ship.

"He elected to stay behind to give us a chance," she said emotionlessly. Anna's world stopped, her fingers trembling. It couldn't be true, Jack was too Jack. He wasn't allowed to die and he certainly wasn't allowed to sacrifice himself. The moment of silence seemed to continue until Elizabeth shouted, her voice strained and annoyed. "Go!"

Anna snapped back into place, her body automatically writhing within the boat and attempting to get back to the ladder. "Jack!" she shouted, "Jack please! Come back! Jack!" she shouted, her voice breaking. She attempted to launch herself at the swinging ladder, but Will's arms wrapped around her easily, holding her in place. "_JACK PLEASE! You can't do this! Please!" _she screamed at the top of her lungs, her body jerking against Will's. He held her calmly, his muscles tensing around her but never saying a word. Everyone else was quiet, as Pintel and Ragetti began rowing again. _"No! NO! Jack you have to come back! JACK! Don't! Please! Take me back! Take me back to him!" _she tried the new tactic, every fiber of her being begging for her to die, right then.

When Will finally pulled her back, the Pearl was in the arms of the Leviathan and sinking down, to where Anna could no longer comprehend. She fell numbly into his arms, her eyes scrunched shut and her voice hoarse as she whispered.

"Don't leave me, don't leave me." Will didn't know who she was talking to, himself or Jack. But he held on, gripping her as tightly as she used to grip him when he'd have nightmares when they were younger. And she'd pet his hair and whisper that she would never ever leave him and he was doing the same to her now.

As the last splashes of white foam disappeared and the Black Pearl was claimed by the sea, Anna disentangled herself from Will and sat stiffly in her seat, her hands folded in her lap and her eyes on the water, as if she was waiting for the Pearl to reappear. Will watched her with sad eyes, not even attempting to pull her back.

Her head lowered, and it felt like it would split will the grief. "Jack," she whispered quietly, calling him, begging him. She found herself on the verge of laughing and crying all at once and hung her head and cradled it, as if it would keep her together.


	25. Chapter 25

**Hey guys! Only FOUR more reviews until an epilogue! This is the LAST CHAPTER! And same as last time, I will be taking a week long break to get further ahead with the next installment, which will be called Chasing Freedom. I will put up the epilogue when I get the last four reviews. All my love!**

**-Han**

There was a vicious pounding in her mind that reminded her of a singular all-consuming heartbeat, slowly breaking from the pressure until pain fissured outward and pieces got caught in her soul. Her finger itched to weave into her hair to hold her head together, and let salty tears run freely down her cheeks. But she couldn't break down. Not when the remaining crew sat around her in silent mourning and her salty tears would remind her of the sea and of the man who embodied it. She wondered if you could die from heartache.

Elizabeth and Will were watching her with something like sympathy but her mask was firmly in place to those around her and she looked to be numb.

Inside her mind was swirling in so many circles she couldn't get a firm grip on the edge and she felt like her heart was bleeding. Could a heart bleed? It felt like it when there were vicious cuts being dragged across it and a Leviathan in her soul clawing away at the remainder of her mind.

The world around her was dark and barren and she could count her heartbeats, or were they just the pounding rhythms of her brain? She could feel the kind stares of the many dark skinned men and women holding candles and moving quietly through waist deep water and she wondered what Jack had done to help them.

Jack.

The name made a sob want to rip from her throat, but she held it back and swallowed heavily, her hands shaky as they dragged through her hair. Her mind flashed with images of sinking ships with black sails and sea-green tentacles rising from calm waters. She shut her eyes against them and tried to calm her frantically beating heart.

She knew it shouldn't hurt this much. But her body felt as though it were ripping at the seams and she would be left barren to a cruel and heartless world. She would be left like Jack, without the promise of salvation or even a love-laden goodbye.

Love.

She did love the man. The dead man. Her best friend. She loved him in the way she had only ever hoped to love someone. She loved him like sunsets and the shots of exotic color across the sky. She loved him like moons, the phases changing and bringing on new feeling and adventure but always returning to the whole. She loved him like night skies, where the feeling of smallness made you want to curl up against another's warmth. She loved him like oceans, where she could feel the freedom in her bones and it made her alive. She loved him like stars, together and shining and never alone. Pointing in right directions and telling stories in the sky.

The boats bumped gently into the docks and somewhere in between, Anna got out and walked into the hut. Tia greeted them with grim eyes and gentle smiles that made Anna want to crawl and hide away. She was seated on a barrel and instinctively curled in on herself, her body folding to support the hollow burning in her chest.

She didn't know empty things could burn.

A blanket was draped across her shoulders and she gave a nod to whoever had done it, her eyes fixed on nothing until she realized she was staring at the locket. Blindly, numbly, she picked it up and opened it, her eyes closing as the haunting tune played through the silent hut.

Gentle music swaying through her mind and heart and she could feel the pain from it ready to make her explode. Tia had stopped to watch her reaction, a mournful smile on her dark lips as the woman let a single tear fall from her eyes as the haunting melody flowed through her. Tia watched her lips move and felt a pang of sympathy for the pain in the name the woman whispered.

Red eyes stayed trained on the locket as the song ended, fading into a single sad note until Anna thought she would break just from the heartbreak of it all. Warm mocha-colored hands covered hers and gently pulled the heart-shaped metal away, sad eyes willing her to release it. It fell from numb fingers and was replaced by an old, cracked mug. Amber liquid swirled inside and Anna wondered if she could drink it with out choking up, without coughing around the taste of Jack.

She held it firmly, the drink a lifeline for the broken hearted and her savior in the dark. She looked up slowly, wondering how many had survived. She'd been too focused on the image of the Pearlbeing taken to count.

Not many had lived, but Cotton and Gibbs had survived. That was something at least. She flinched as she heard Will speak, his voice echoing and dark.

"It doesn't matter now. The Pearl's gone, along with its Captain."

Her body folded in on itself at the words and she could hear Jack's voice in her head, telling her he'd only be a moment. Telling her he'd come back.

"Aye, and already the world seems a bit less bright. He fooled us all right till the end, but I guess that honest streak finally won out," Gibbs said admiringly. Anna chocked back a sob, feeling the tears bubbling up as Gibbs raised his glass. "To Jack Sparrow!"

Her glass raised high, her eyes on the ceiling, her mouth quivering.

"Never another like Captain Jack," Ragetti said strongly, knowing that any other Captain would have killed them when they were found aboard the Pearl. Jack had given them a second chance.

"He was a gentlemen of fortune, he was," Pintel added, seeming to be fighting back emotion.

"He was a good man," Elizabeth said darkly before Anna could open her mouth. She looked at the woman, noticing the grief and possibly even the guilt in her posture. She looked out to the room of people, looking at her as if waiting for her to say something. She looked down, her cup clutched tightly in her hand.

"He was my best friend," she said quietly. "And I loved him."

The announcement was met with shocked and scared silence and Will looked at her as if seeing her for the first time, remembering the woman who'd gone on that first adventure with him. He felt his heart breaking further as it sunk in. How he'd treated her. Who she'd just lost.

Elizabeth looked to be in extreme stages of guilt, her body shaking with the force of it. Everyone else simply looked to be mourning Anna's personal loss. They hadn't known, hadn't realized, how much he meant to her. Though looking back, none of them could understand how they'd missed it.

"If there was anything I could do to bring him back…Anna," Will said softly, hoping to convey his truth.

"Would you do it? What would you, what would any of you be willing to do? Would you sail to the ends of the Earth and beyond to fetch back witty Jack and him precious Pearl?" Tia demanded, staring at Will with fierce brown eyes and a demanding tone. It was silent a moment, then.

"Aye," Gibbs said strongly, a look of hope creeping into his weathered face.

"Aye," Pintel added.

"Aye," Ragetti said forcefully, the look of gratitude to the lost Captain never fading.

"Aye!" Cotton's parrot screeched.

"Aye," Will added, his nod firm and his back straight.

"Yes," Elizabeth said quietly.

Everyone turned to Anna, question in their eyes. She smiled, weakly, tears leaking out of her stormy eyes. "Do you even have to ask?" she asked rhetorically. "I'd do anything for birdie."

Tie smiled, seeming pleased with her answer and tilted her head regally, a coy look in her eyes. "All right! But if you're going to brave the weird and haunted shores at World's End, then you will need a captain who knows those waters," she said with a grin. She turned her head to the stairs, still grinning, as boots descended them. Anna realized how familiar they looked just as the figure rounded the corner.

For a moment her grief was forgotten, as Barbossa rounded the corner with the monkey on his shoulder. His lined and weathered face just as real as it was when she watched him die. His beard just as scraggly and his teeth just as yellow and decayed.

"So tell me, what's become of my ship?" he asked with a grin, taking a huge bite into a green apple. Anna's thoughts were halted as she found herself happy that he'd finally gotten to taste one. Barbossa's maniacal laughter filled the hut as he emptied it into the room.

"We're coming for you, Jack," she whispered lowly, her hand gripping the charm around her neck as tightly as she could. Her eyes closed as she thought of deep, dark eyes staring back at her, a saucy grin with gold-capped teeth. She thought of his deep, rough voice and the sweet words he spoke to her. She knew she would do anything for him, her body feeling as though it would die simply from the separation. She would go anywhere for Jack, do anything.

He was Captain Jack Sparrow, and she loved him more than she ever thought possible.


	26. Chapter 26

**I promised, and here it is! Yes, very depressing and sad and etc, but I'm proud of it. I love you guys! See you in a week!**

**Please review for the end.**

**-Han **

EPILOUGE::

Her legs dangled off the edge of Tia's porch, her boots almost skimming the water as her hands gripped the edge. Her head hung and her hair shielded her from the world. She was alone, the emptiness of the bog filling her very soul and she finally allowed herself to cry.

Tears dripped from her eyes as her breathing came out in breathy shudders, her body trying to find room to breathe around the sadness in her heart. The sobs burned through her lungs until she could only attempt to breath around them, choking on the air around her and coughing out sobs that made her chest ache.

Unconsciously, her hands rose to cradle her face, her back bowing as her palms caught her tears and she imagined they were callused and rough and ringed and wiping away her sadness. The image made her cry harder. Briefly, she wondered if those inside could hear her, but she didn't care.

She knew they were going to save him, but the onslaught of grief made her forget. Made her forget he would be back. All that mattered was that he wasn't there now, and she needed him.

She wasn't sure when it happened, but all at once she was standing on top of the rail, looking into the murky water below her with teary eyes that she couldn't see through. Her boots slipped on the edge, but somehow she retained her balance, her body shaking and convulsing as she cried.

Her fingers outstretched, for an image she created, of her birdie standing above the water, beckoning her. She wondered if she could choose to live in purgatory, if she died now. She wondered if she could just end it now. End it forever. Be with him now, instead of waiting the inevitable month or more it would take to find him again.

Her hand fell numbly to her side and her boot extended in its place, her body twisting to retain some form of balance while she battled with herself. Her eyes slid closed, tears still leaking from the corners and her arms extended. She found room in her lungs to take a lingering breath.

Just as her body was about to fall, and be consumed by a darkness blacker than the night, strong arms encased her. For a moment, she allowed herself to believe it was Jack. She allowed herself to believe he'd come back for her.

But when she pried her eyes open she met Will's, his innocent eyes staring back at hers in complete distress. She tried to smile, to give him something, but there just wasn't strength in her body.

He crushed her to his body, holding her as tightly as he could and she continued to break. She felt as if her soul were splitting down the center as she cried into his chest. And he held her just like she had, when they were rescued so many years before. He held her like he would die if he let go, and he held her like she would fly away. And she gripped his shirt and cried into it as if she would explode if she didn't.

She wasn't even aware that Tia was watching her from the door, sadness and relief mixing in her mocha eyes as she realized she'd been in time to stop her. But the breaking pain in her heart made the voodoo woman ache for her.

Will was clutching her as tightly as he could, guilt and fear and pain filtering through his mind until he thought he would simply combust from it all. But he found enough strength to whisper to her in the darkness.

"Shh, It's alright. It will be okay, Annie. We'll get him back .We'll save him, Annie. I'm not leaving you, don't worry," he softly against her hair.

"I don't k-know what to…what to do with out him," she breathed around sobs. Her body shook more violently against his and Will felt his own heart breaking.

"We're getting him back. I promise you that much, I will get him back for you," he swore.

She was quiet a long moment, and he could feel the salty tears through his shirt. "Will, it's so dark inside," she said quietly, as if she was letting him into some sacred reserve of her heart. "There's nothing left. Nothing left now that he's gone," she whispered.

"I'm here, I'm always here for you," he urged petting her hair.

She shook her head, watery eyes meeting his and he could see how broken she was. "I know. But there's…this emptiness inside my chest and it hurts. Will, it hurts so bad," she sobbed. She quieted down for a moment, her chest rising and falling in time. "I was right, though," she said softly.

"What about?" Will asked carefully, afraid of the answer.

"Freedom i-isn't the same without him."

**This is Han, signing off.**


End file.
